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US troops 'poised to storm Najaf'
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
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
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