Shiites forge alliance
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Backed by Iraq&#39;s Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the political coalition of 228 candidates is expected to sweep next month&#39;s elections.
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BAGHDAD -- Catapulted by heavy turnout among Iraq's long-oppressed Shi'ite Muslim majority, an alliance of Shi'ite religious parties won nearly half the vote in the national elections and will probably capture a narrow majority of seats in the new parliament, according to a nationwide tally released yesterday.
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In the face-off at the shrine, U.S.  and Iraqi leaders vowed to crush  al-Sadr's rebellion. But they may have stoked the insurgency even  more
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Iraq's main Shi'ite alliance, fresh from winning landmark elections, gathered on Monday to choose a candidate for prime minister and the allies it needs after failing to win an absolute majority.
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Sadr City, once a symbol of Shiite subjugation, is recovering. Many residents credit the Mahdi Army.
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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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A coalition fielding 228 candidates and supported by Iraq&#39;s top Shiite cleric has been formed to compete in the January 30 national elections.
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Shiite fighters in tracksuits and sneakers unloaded cars full of machine guns, mortars and land mines Monday as a five-day disarmament program kicked off in Baghdad&#39;s Sadr City district - a sign of progress in the center of Shiite resistance in Iraq
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Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed yesterday to begin handing in weapons, a significant step toward restoring order in Baghdad&#39;s sprawling Sadr City slum
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BAGHDAD, July 17 -- Shiite and Kurdish officials expressed deep reservations on Sunday about the new U.S. military strategy of partnering with Sunni Arab groups to help defeat the militant organization al-Qaeda in Iraq.
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Iraq's main Shi'ite alliance, fresh  from winning landmark elections, gathered on Monday to choose a  candidate for prime minister and the allies it needs after  failing to win an absolute majority.
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Tens of thousands of Shiite Muslim men, some beating their chests and slashing their heads with blades, marched along city streets throughout the Middle East on Tuesday to mark Ashoura. The marches in Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran took place in an atmosphere of tension between Shiites and Sunni Muslims that has risen during the past year as the power struggles in Beirut and Baghdad take on a sectarian cast.
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BAGHDAD - Iraqâs majority Shiites yesterday unveiled a broad electoral alliance in a move likely to leave them with the lionâs share of the vote in next monthâs landmark polls for a transitional government.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, made a dramatic return to Najaf on Thursday and swiftly won agreement from a rebel cleric and the government to end three weeks of fighting between his militia and U.S.-Iraqi forces.    The renegade Muqtada al-Sadr accepted the proposal in a face-to-face meeting Thursday night with the 75-year-old al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric...
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A member of the Shia alliance which took most of the vote in Iraq calls for national unity to build a new state.
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Iraqi forces today joined US troops in the battle with rebel militia in the holy city of Najaf. There was fierce fighting as the joint forces moved to within 200 metres of the Imam Ali shrine, where militiamen
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In a match pitting Iraq against Iran, our reporter wades into the stands to find Sunnis and Shiites united.