Militiamen remain in Iraq shrine amid fear of new kidnapping
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BAGHDAD : Moqtada Sadr&#39;s militiamen remained in control of their Najaf mosque stronghold, as fears grew that an Italian journalist missing in Iraq since Thursday was kidnapped.
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A rebel cleric's militiamen kept their guns outside a holy site Friday after issuing a surprise offer to give up control of the Imam Ali Shrine to Shiite Muslim religious leaders, but negotiators wrangled into the night over getting the militants out of the compound.
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The captors of an American journalist being held in Iraq have threatened to kill him unless US forces pulled out of Najaf.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Militiamen loyal to rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday removed their weapons from the revered Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf as part of an arrangement aimed at ending a 2-week-old anti-U.S. uprising centered on the holy site...
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi police fired warning shots and barred vehicle traffic leading to Kufa on Friday, fearing an outbreak of violence as hundreds of worshippers descended on the holy city for the first weekly prayers since radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr relinquished control of its revered shrine under a peace deal.    Separately, France said it had received word that two French reporters held captive in Iraq were alive while one of their employers claimed the kidnappers had handed them over to an Iraqi opposition group, raising hopes that the hostages could soon be released...
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NAJAF, Iraq - Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Wednesday calling for his militiamen to disarm and leave their hideout in a revered Shiite shrine, raising hopes of ending a battle that has threatened to undermine Iraq's fledgling interim government.    But gunfire and explosions crackled across Najaf after the deal was announced and there was no indication of whether there could be a quick end to two weeks of fighting between al-Sadr's forces and U.S...
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Shi'ite fighters appeared to be in  control of a holy shrine in Najaf on Friday hours after Iraq's  interim government said it had overcome a bloody uprising by  seizing the Imam Ali mosque without a shot being fired.
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Iraqi security forces moved to within 400 meters (yards) of a holy shrine in Najaf on Tuesday, just hours after the government warned Shi&#39;ite rebels inside they would be killed if they did not surrender.
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Loyalists of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr remained in control of the gold-domed Imam Ali shrine on Saturday after failing to reach an agreement
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With fighting raging, Shiite Muslims loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr appeared yesterday to renew their interest in a negotiated end to the siege of one of Islam&#39;s holiest shrines.
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Gunmen still patrol the centre of Iraq's holy city of Najaf  after 16 days of fighting and delicate talks.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Fears of heavier fighting in Najaf  grew on Wednesday after an Iraqi peace delegation failed to  defuse a confrontation between U.S. troops and militiamen holed  up in a revered shrine in the city.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Followers loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Friday they were prepared to hand control of the revered Imam Ali Shrine to top Shiite religious authorities, and Iraq's interim prime minister said he would not storm the holy site.    The moves came after a day and night of fighting in Najaf that killed 77 people and wounded 70 others, as al-Sadr militiamen mortared a police station and U.S...
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Najaf, Iraq - Militants loyal to firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr remained in control of a revered shrine at the centre of the crisis in Najaf on Saturday as they bickered with top Shia leaders over how to hand the holy site over.
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Iraqi security forces tightened their grip around a key shrine in Najaf yesterday after the interim government warned Shia rebels inside they must surrender or die.
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Prominent members of rebel Shi'ite  cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement have become the latest  targets in a shadowy insurgency gripping Iraq, raising fears of  more unrest in a country plagued by violence.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr kept their hold on a revered shrine, and clashes flared in Najaf on Saturday, raising fears that a resolution to the crisis in the holy city could collapse amid bickering between Shiite leaders.    An unofficial mediator pleaded with al-Sadr to disarm his militants, pull them out of the shrine and disband his militia immediately...