The Hindu : International : Iraqi police take control of shrine

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Saturday, Aug 21, 2004

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International

Iraqi police take control of shrine

Supporters of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr chant slogans against the Government's handling of the violence in Najaf, after the noon prayers at the Qadamiya Mosque in northwestern Baghdad, on Friday. — AP

BAGHDAD, AUG. 20. Iraqi police on Friday took control of the Imam Ali Mosque in the holy city of Najaf, after entering the shrine to find that the Shia militia loyal to the radical cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, had left, the Interior Ministry said.

``The Iraqi police are now in control of the shrine, along with the religious authorities,'' said a senior Ministry spokesman.

Overnight pounding of militia positions in Najaf by U.S. forces left 77 people dead and another 70 wounded, the Health Ministry said. ``We have 77 people killed and 70 reported injured,'' said an official at the Ministry's emergency room.

Hundreds arrested

Iraqi policemen, who entered the shrine on Friday, detained hundreds of Shia militiamen but Mr. Al-Sadr was not found, officials said.

A Government source put the number of fighters in the shrine at 400 but an Interior Ministry spokesman said police had found 500 lightly armed men prepared to surrender.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said Mr. Al-Sadr may have escaped the U.S.-led military siege of the mosque. ``It is possible he might have escaped overnight,'' he said, urging the cleric to turn himself in. ``We urge him to come and turn himself in and he might be covered by the amnesty.''

Arms removed

Militiamen loyal to Mr. Al-Sadr on Friday removed their weapons from the shrine as the two-week-old uprising centred on the holy site appeared to be drawing to an end.

Earlier on Friday, they offered to give control of the shrine to Shia religious authorities, who accepted the offer in principle.

By Friday evening, militants had withdrawn all their weapons from the shrine compound, where civilians and unarmed militia members mingled in peace.

Two Marines killed

In other incidents, two U.S. Marines were killed in action in separate incidents in a volatile region west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said today.

The military said in a statement a Marine assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force died of wounds suffered on Wednesday while another Marine was killed in action in Al-Anbar province. — AP

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