Talon Posted August 18, 2004 #1 Share Posted August 18, 2004 NAJAF CRISIS 'ENDS' The Najaf crisis is set to end after radical cleric Moqtada al Sadr agreed to peace terms and leave the holy Ali Iman mosque. He said he would disarm 1,000 shia militiamen if US troops surrounding the city agreed to the truce. The move came after government defence minister Hazem al-Shaalan said the Iraqi army would storm the mosque and battle Sadr's Mehdi army. Two government delegations had visited Najaf in southern Iraq during the past week in an attempt to secure a truce, but without success. Mr al-Shaalan had told Al-Arabiya television the battle would start on Wednesday following the failure of peace talks. Heavy fighting could be heard including gunfire and explosions in the holy city. About 29 militants have been killed or injured in Wednesday's fighting, hospital sources said. The insurgents and US troops have been fighting for nearly two weeks. The battles have coincided with fighting in several other Iraqi cities. Meanwhile, US troops claim they have killed 50 al-Sadr supporters in the Sadr City suburb of Baghdad. A militant group says it will kill a captured American journalist if US forces do not pull out of Najaf in 48 hours. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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