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US troops 'poised to storm Najaf'

by sources
US and Iraqi forces are preparing for a major assault against Shia Muslim fighters in the holy city of Najaf, the US military has said.
US forces have been battling insurgents loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr for the past week.

Hundreds have been reported killed or injured since the fighting began.

One of Iraq's deputy presidents, Ibrahim Jaafari, has called for the US-led forces to withdraw and allow Iraqi security forces to take over.

"I call for multinational forces to leave Najaf and for only Iraqi forces to remain there," he said in remarks broadcast by Arabic TV channel al-Jazeera.

Earlier, he also called on Mr Sadr's Mehdi Army militants to pull back.

But the US military - whose intervention was requested by the Najaf governor last week - has said it plans to press on with its offensive in Najaf.

"Iraqi and US forces are making final preparations as we get ready to finish this fight that the Moqtada militia started," said Col Anthony Haslam, commanding officer of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Najaf.

"The desired end state is one of stability and security, where the citizens of Najaf do not live in fear of violence or kidnappings, and where the city of Najaf can once again return to peace and prosperity."

Mr Sadr has called on his followers to keep fighting even if he himself is captured or killed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3555546.stm

August 11, 2004 -- NAJAF, Iraq — U.S. tanks pushed into Najaf's vast cemetery-turned-battlefield yesterday as helicopter gunships fired on Shiite militiamen hiding there.
American patrols with loudspeakers went through the city, warning militants to leave or face death.

Explosions shook the streets and black smoke rose over parts of Najaf, but the fighting with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia appeared more sporadic than in recent days.

http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/26662.htm

.S. troops move on Najaf shrine
Last Updated Tue, 10 Aug 2004 16:16:36 EDT
BAGHDAD - U.S. forces drove through the streets of Najaf on Tuesday, calling for militants to disarm the day after the radical Shia cleric leading the uprising vowed to fight to the death.

"We ask residents to co-operate with the Iraqi army and police," said a voice in Arabic through a loudspeaker. "There will be no truce or negotiations with terrorists."

In the city's massive cemetery, militants battled U.S. troops as American tanks rolled to within 350 metres of the Imam Ali Shrine, Najaf's holiest site. Fighters in the Mahdi Army militia have been using the shrine as a base, and parts of the cemetery as weapons depots.

Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia cleric who is the spiritual leader of the militia, vowed on Monday he would stay in the city and resist the U.S.-led forces "until the last drop of my blood has been spilled."

Military officials claim as many as 360 Mahdi fighters have been killed since the fighting erupted last Thursday, but the militants say their casualties are far fewer than that.

The fighting has killed five U.S. soldiers and 20 Iraqi police officers.

Militant group threatens government offices

A militant group calling itself the Divine Wrath Brigades warned that public employees in Iraq should stay away from work on Tuesday, as it intended to launch attacks against government offices.

The group said in a statement on Monday that it would begin "military rebellion and the shelling" on Tuesday.

"We warn all civilian government employees and others ... against going to the offices and institutions where they work because they could be subjected to shelling," the statement said.

In the statement, the group also claimed responsibility for a number of recent attacks. The claims could not be verified.

Other developments:

* Iraq's oil industry stopped pumping oil to Basra on Monday because of threats to infrastructure. About 90 per cent of Iraq's oil exports flow through the southern port city.

* Two Jordanian and two Lebanese hostages were freed on Monday, said their families. All four were truck drivers. The Jordanians had been held for two weeks; the Lebanese for a week.

* Fighting intensified around Basra on Monday, killing a British soldier and three militants.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/08/10/iraq_tues040810.html
§US military prepares to 'finish Moqtada's fight'
by australian broadcasting

The US military says it is preparing for major assaults against Shiite Muslim militiamen in Iraq's central holy city of Najaf, alongside Iraqi security forces.

"Marines, US army soldiers and Iraqi national guardsmen continue joint training exercises in preparation for major assaults against enemy forces in the city of Najaf," the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) said.

US marines, Iraqi national guardsmen, two reinforced US infantry battalions and a US aviation battalion are "currently working together to constitute the force that will conduct these major assaults".

"MEU training with the ING (Iraqi National Guard) began several days ago, and will foster an efficient, effective, cohesive team as ING leads the fight in ridding their city of those who break the rules of law and order," it said.

Marine commander in Najaf Colonel Anthony Haslam says the forces are getting ready to "finish this fight that the Moqtada militia started".

Sporadic fighting is continuing in the vast cemetery of Najaf, where militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr have hunkered down in seven straight days of fighting against US and Iraqi Government forces.

Medics in Najaf and its twin city of Kufa say 28 people have been killed and more than 110 wounded over the past week.

Sadr aides put the Mehdi Army death toll at 20, while the US military reports four marines killed.

-- AFP

In other developments:

  • Radical Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is urging his militia to keep fighting US forces in Iraq even if he is killed, raising the stakes in a bloody confrontation that shows no sign of ending. (Full Story)
  • Twenty people have been killed and 50 wounded in overnight clashes between British troops and radical militiamen, as a week-old Shiite uprising spreads across central and southern Iraq. (Full Story)
  • Thousands of Iraqis in the southern city of Nassiriya calling for the fall of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, have set fire to the local office of his political party. (Full Story)
  • A Jordanian man has been kidnapped in Iraq, the second in 24 hours, according to a Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman. (Full Story)
  • The Philippines has abruptly scrapped its offer to send peacekeeping troops back to Iraq under a United Nations framework in a fresh turnaround that risks further alienating its key allies. (Full Story)

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