A delegation of Iraqis meant to help negotiate an end to an uprising in Najaf was forced to delay its mission Tuesday when it could not get a military escort for the dangerous journey to meet the radical cleric at the center of the standoff in the holy city. It was an embarrassing turn of events for Iraqi leaders seeking a political victory to give them credibility as they try to chart the country's new course and end the fighting in Najaf —their worst crisis since taking power in the end of June.
As the delegation waited in Baghdad, a mortar round hit a busy street in the city several miles away, killing six people and wounding 35, the Interior Ministry and hospital officials said. The blast on al-Rasheed Street set one building on fire and damaged seven cars, said Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman, of the Interior Ministry. Capt. Amer Nouman at the Medical City hospital said the blast killed five people, including two children. Three of the bodies were burned beyond recognition, he said. He said the hospital also received 30 people who were wounded in the explosion.
The 60 mediators from Iraq's National Conference had planned to leave early Tuesday morning to meet radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and appeal to his followers to put down their weapons and join Iraq's political process. However, by early afternoon, they still remained at the conference site in central Baghdad. "The U.S. troops and Iraqi police refused to escort the delegation, they are afraid for its safety because they themselves are being targeted by militants," said delegate Ahmad al Hayali. The Interior Ministry said it had received no request to provide security for the delegation. "We are prepared to provide all kinds of protection to the delegation from Baghdad to Najaf and back," Interior Ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim said. The conference itself was considered a major target for militants waging a 16-month-old insurgency in the country and an explosion, reportedly from a mortar, shook the area near the building on Tuesday. Al-Sadr aide Ali al-Yassiry, who said he came to the conference to talk to U.N. officials about the Najaf violence, said he was slightly injured in the blast. Al-Sadr's followers have said they were boycotting the gathering, though several members of his movement have been seen there in recent days. Meanwhile, explosions and gunfire shook the streets of Najaf on Tuesday as the clashes escalated. U.S. troops entered the flashpoint Old City neighborhood, where al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia was based, and U.S. tanks encircled the Old City. |