NAJAF, Iraq – Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite Muslim cleric who leads an armed rebellion against the U.S. occupation, agreed Wednesday to withdraw his militia from Najaf and hand the city back to Iraqi police, the government said, raising hopes for an end to weeks of fighting that threatened some of Shia Islam’s holiest sites.
The announcement by national security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie took place after U.S. troops arrested al-Sadr’s key lieutenant in a pre-dawn raid. Clashes late Tuesday and early Wednesday between U.S. troops and militia fighters killed 24 people and wounded nearly 50, hospital and militia officials said.
There was no confirmation by al-Sadr. However, an agreement to abandon Najaf would be a major step toward ending his uprising in the south, only weeks before a new Iraqi government takes power June 30, formally ending the U.S.-led occupation.
Al-Rubaie, a Shiite and former Governing Council member, said al-Sadr made the offer in a letter to the city’s Shiite clerical hierarchy. According to al-Rubaie, al-Sadr offered to remove his fighters from Najaf – except for those who live there – but demanded that U.S. and other coalition troops “return to base,” allowing Iraqi police to regain control of the city.
The young Shiite cleric also demanded “broad discussions” within the Shiite community over the future of his al-Mahdi Army militia, and that legal proceedings against him in a murder case be deferred until then.
Al-Sadr said he is making this offer because of “the tragic condition” in Najaf after weeks of fighting between his militia and the Americans, and slight damage to the city’s holiest shrine, the Imam Ali mosque.
Fighting around some of the holiest cities of Shia Islam has angered Shiites in Iraq and elsewhere and has led to calls for both the Americans and the militia to pull back from the shrines.
On Tuesday, the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf was slightly damaged for the second time in a week, and U.S. and Shiite forces blamed each other.
American forces seized al-Sadr’s key lieutenant, Riyadh al-Nouri, during a raid on his Najaf home early Wednesday. U.S. officials said al-Nouri offered no resistance.
Associated Press
Iraqi mourners hold pictures of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Wednesday during a funeral procession in Baghdad. The funeral was for a 25-year-old man killed in fighting in Najaf.
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