Shia militants have clashed with Iraqi police in the holy city of Najaf, leaving at least two people dead and shattering a short-lived truce. A policeman was among those killed, while at least 13 people were wounded, including several civilians. The fighting came despite a truce agreed on 4 June between the Mehdi Army militia of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr and the US-led coalition. Iraqi police said US troops were not involved in the latest clashes. The Shia militants reportedly attacked a police station late on Wednesday, using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Earlier, police had tried to arrest suspected thieves, according to witnesses.
| Thieves and militants were most likely the same people |
Under the truce, Moqtada Sadr had agreed to withdraw his fighters from the Islamic shrines in Najaf and the nearby holy city of Kufa. Iraqi police returned to the streets of Najaf on 5 June, while US forces pulled out to their base on the edge of the city. The Mehdi Army's uprising against the US occupation began in April and the militia suffered heavy casualties in clashes with US forces before the truce was negotiated.
More details: Shiite gunmen seized a police station Thursday in Najaf in the first outbreak of fighting since an agreement to end weeks of bloody clashes between U.S. troops and militia forces. Four Iraqis were killed and 13 were injured, hospital and militia officials said. Gunmen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took control of the Ghari police station just 250 yards from the Imam Ali Shrine, witness Mohammed Hussein said. The station was looted and police cars were burned. "We sent a quick-reaction unit to assist the policemen defending the station, but they were overwhelmed by al-Sadr fighters," Najaf Gov. Adnan al-Zurufi said. "We will solve this problem as soon as possible. We will ask for the help of the Americans, if necessary." | Be nice if you could handle this yourself. |
U.S. forces were not involved in the clashes, and it was unclear whether the violence marked the end of the cease-fire in Najaf, mediated by Shiite leaders and al-Sadr's militia, or resulted from police attempts to crack down on petty crime in the city. Police and witnesses said trouble started when authorities tried to arrest some suspected thieves at the bus station near the main police headquarters. Masked attackers - possibly including militia members - responded with machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades near the headquarters building. One gunman was killed when police returned fire, and other fighters then attacked the building. Fighting later moved to the second police station. Al-Sadr spokesman Qais al-Khazali said he was trying to intervene and stop the violence. "We are trying to convince them to stop shooting," al-Khazali said. "We are still committed to the truce." Two of the four dead were al-Mahdi fighters, and several others were injured, al-Khazali said. | Time to see who runs this town, the government or Sadr. |
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