Forces could begin offensive against al-Sadr within hours
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NAJAF, Iraq   An Iraqi Cabinet minister said Thursday that Iraqi forces could begin an offensive against Muqtada al-Sadr within hours, despite the firebrand cleric&#39;s acceptance of a cease-fire proposal.
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US vehicles take up positions around edge of Iraqi capital's Sadr City district.
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Iraqi troops could raid Najaf's holy Imam Ali Shrine as early as Wednesday in a final push to root out Shiite militants hiding there while they battle U.S. forces, Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said.
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U.S. and Iraqi troops began major military operations today against Al Qaeda forces near Baghdad, while in the south, U.S. troops battled Shiite militants.
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Senior US and Iraqi officials say a US-led invasion of the rebel stronghold, 30 miles west of Baghdad, could begin within days. By Scott Peterson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor.
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This week's intense clashes between the Iraqi army and a Shiite militia are part of a strategy to whittle away the power of a radical cleric. But the high-risk gambit could trigger more fighting across the Shiite south &#151; at a time when the cleric's stronghold in the capital is virtually off-limits.
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The American military met for five hours on Sunday with representatives of the rebellious cleric Moktada al-Sadr in the volatile Baghdad Shiite neighborhood of Sadr
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US forces in the Iraqi  city of Najaf carry out  an overnight assault on militia loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.
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US forces renewed their assault yesterday on Mehdi Army positions in and around Najaf&#39;s old city with an early morning bombing raid and an advance which brought tanks at some points
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A command centre for a joint US-Iraqi offensive to restore security in Baghdad is ready to go into operation.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq  - Rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada  al-Sadr has ordered his militia to end attacks on U.S. and  Iraqi government forces and will soon unveil plans to pursue  his goals through politics rather than conflict, aides said  Monday.
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A hitherto unknown Islamist group has  threatened to kill 15 captured Iraqi soldiers if authorities do  not release an aide to Shi'ite rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr  within 48 hours, Arab television Al Jazeera reported Sunday.
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NAJAF, IRAQ - Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr faces an Iraqi offensive on his Najaf stronghold within hours, despite his apparent agreement to lay down arms, Iraqi cabinet officials said Thursday.
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since 9 am (6 am British time) on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said. Sadr City doctor Leith. Ghazi told Reuters at least seven others were killed in overnight fighting.
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NAJAF, Iraq -- Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr yesterday told his army of followers to hand control of a revered Najaf shrine to top Shi&#39;a religious authorities, hours after US forces bombed militant positions and Iraq&#39;s prime ...
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AGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 18 - Displaying the brinkmanship that has made him one of the United States&#39; most powerful adversaries in Iraq, the rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr sent last-minute messages of conciliation on Wednesday that appeared to ...
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KUFA, Iraq  - Powerful anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr appeared in public for the first time in months on Friday and again demanded that U.S. troops get out of Iraq.