The Hindu : International : Al Sadr threatens wave of attacks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 28, 2004

International

International

Al Sadr threatens wave of attacks

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, APRIL 27. Over sixty militiamen loyal to a leading Shia cleric have been killed overnight in clashes with U.S. forces on the outskirts of Najaf, while Americans have delayed joint patrolling with Iraqi policemen in the Sunni stronghold of Fallujah in central Iraq. The U.S. military command said that an AC-130 plane had destroyed an anti-aircraft weapon in a clash with Shia fighters outside Kufa — around 10 km from Najaf. Fighting began when U.S. troops were taking over a military base being vacated by a Spanish contingent. Residents said U.S. warplanes had attacked a checkpoint manned by the Mehdi Army that is loyal to the Shia cleric, Moqtada Al Sadr.

In the clashes, buildings used by the militiamen near the checkpoint were damaged and at least three vehicles were reportedly destroyed. An official in the Najaf hospital said that 28 Iraqis had died and 32 others were wounded, but many bodies were yet to be retrieved from the battlefield. The U.S. forces have threatened to arrest or kill Mr. Al Sadr, who has led the Shia uprising against American occupation in southern Iraq.

The U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, has stressed that Mr. Al Sadr should withdraw the Mehdi forces and remove weapons from mosques and schools. Countering the U.S. assertions, Mr. Al Sadr has warned that any U.S. assault on Najaf, where he is residing, would be met by a wave of suicide attacks.

In Fallujah, U.S. plans to begin joint patrols with Iraqi security forces were shelved after heavy fighting there on Monday. There have been fresh indications that the U.S. is not planning an imminent assault on Fallujah. U.S. forces have also been silent on guerillas surrendering their heavy weapons as a precondition for the extension of the ceasefire in the town. A U.S. soldier has been killed by gunfire near a bus station on the eastern outskirts of Baghdad.

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