Iraq Cleric, U.S. Marines in Tense Najaf Standoff
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NAJAF, Iraq  - U.S. marines and a radical Iraqi  cleric were locked in a tense standoff on Thursday after the  firebrand leader refused to leave a holy shrine in Najaf  despite earlier agreeing to disarm his militia and withdraw.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf's Old City on Sunday in a fierce battle between U.S. forces and Shiite militants, as negotiations dragged on for the handover of the shrine that the fighters have used for their stronghold...
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric arrived  in Najaf Thursday to try to end a bloody three-week uprising as  tensions rose sharply following attacks in a nearby town that  killed 45 people and wounded 170.
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U.S. infantrymen engaged in fierce battles with cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militants Monday and U.S. tanks moved closer to the revered Imam Ali Shrine as the American military stepped up pressure on the insurgents to leave the holy site and end their uprising.
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NAJAF, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militants in Najaf on Tuesday and Iraqi National Guardsmen surrounded the holy city's Imam Ali Shrine, where insurgents loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been holed up for weeks...
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NAJAF, Iraq  - A fierce gunbattle erupted early on  Monday between U.S. troops and radical Shi'ite militants near  Najaf's holy shrine, a Reuters witness said.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf on Monday amid fierce battles between U.S. forces and Shiite militants, who remained in control of a revered shrine here as negotiations dragged on for its handover to religious authorities...
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NAJAF, Iraq - Militants loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr remained in control of a revered Shiite shrine at the center of the crisis in Najaf on Saturday, as they bickered with top Shiite religious leaders over how to hand the holy site over.    Despite the standoff, Najaf remained largely calm Saturday...
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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.    The clashes between U.S...
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American forces have reportedly surrounded Shia fighters in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf following a night of intensive bombardment. Is the transition to democracy under threat?
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NAJAF, Iraq  - An Iraqi peace delegation urged a  radical Shi'ite cleric Tuesday to call off his uprising in the  city of Najaf where U.S. troops pounded militia positions near  the country's holiest Islamic sites.
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Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf's Old City on Sunday in a fierce battle between U.S. forces and Shiite militants, as negotiations dragged on for the handover of the shrine that the fighters have used for their stronghold.
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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's acceptance of a peace proposal.    To prevent an imminent attack on his forces, who are holed up in the revered Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, al-Sadr must immediately disarm his Mahdi Army militia and hand over its weapons to the authorities, Minister of State Qassim Dawoud said...
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Negotiations over the embattled city of Najaf took a new and complicated turn Thursday when an official of Iraq's interim government issued fresh demands to be met by rebellious Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, accompanied by warnings of an imminent military offensive at the shrine where Sadr's militia is holed up.
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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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An Iraqi delegation is going to Najaf to try to end  a stand-off between US-led forces and Shia militants.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - U.S. warplanes, artillery and  marines engaged Shi'ite militiamen in a fierce battle around a  shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf on Monday in some of the  heaviest fighting since the 20-day-old rebellion erupted.