- 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.
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- US forces have been battling insurgents loyal to radical
cleric Moqtada Sadr for the past week.
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- Hundreds have been reported killed or injured since the
fighting began.
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- 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.
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- "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.
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- Earlier, he also called on Mr Sadr's Mehdi Army militants
to pull back.
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- Holy site
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- But the US military - whose intervention was requested
by the Najaf governor last week - has said it plans to press on with its
offensive.
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- "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. It is not clear when an all-out assault might take place.
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- The US military said on Monday that Najaf's Governor,
Adnan al-Zorfi, had given its troops permission to raid the Imam Ali mausoleum.
The US says the insurgents are using the shrine as a refuge, but an attack
could anger Shia Muslims.
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- It is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, marking
the spot where the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, is buried.
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- Mr Sadr has called on his followers to keep fighting
even if he himself is captured or killed. "I thank the dear fighters
all over Iraq for what they have done to set back injustice," he said
as fighting flared up in other cities such as Amara, where at least 10
Iraqis died in clashes with UK forces.
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- Confirmed casualty figures are unavailable for Najaf
but clashes in Baghdad, Amara, Kut and other towns left at least 30 dead
and 219 wounded on Tuesday alone, the Iraqi health ministry said.
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- At least six Iraqis were killed and 10 injured when a
bomb exploded at a market near Baquba, north of Baghdad.
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- In the flashpoint city of Falluja, west of Baghdad, at
least two Iraqis were killed in what appeared to be a US air strike.
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- Elsewhere, eight people were detained and weapons and
ammunition seized in a raid in the central Iraqi city of Karbala, according
to a statement from the multinational troops.
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- © BBC MMIV http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3555546.stm
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