Iraq Militants Leave Shrine in Peace Deal
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NAJAF, Iraq - Militants filed out of the Imam Ali Shrine, closed the doors behind them and turned over the keys to Iraq's top Shiite cleric Friday, symbolizing their acceptance of a peace deal to end three weeks of devastating fighting in this holy city.    By Friday afternoon, dozens of Iraqi police and national guardsmen surrounded the shrine compound - many kissing its doors and weeping - as the government began to re-establish control over the Old City of Najaf...
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NAJAF, Iraq - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Wednesday for Najaf that would disarm his militiamen and remove them from a holy shrine where they are hiding out, according to a spokesman. However, Al-Sadr wanted to negotiate how the deal would be implemented...
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NAJAF, Iraq - Prime Minister Ayad Allawi issued a "final call" Thursday to Shiite insurgents to disarm and withdraw from a revered shrine after his government threatened a massive onslaught by Iraqi forces. As the peace deal for Najaf unraveled, militants bombarded a police station with mortar rounds, killing seven police and injuring 31 others...
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SHIITE militia leader Moqtada Sadr has ceded control of his shrine stronghold to representatives of the religious leadership following a deal with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to end weeks of deadly fighting that has devastated the Iraqi city of Najaf.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - A radical Iraqi cleric leading a Shi&#39;ite uprising agreed Wednesday to disarm his militia and leave one of the country&#39;s holiest Islamic shrines, but only after a truce with encircling US Marines.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - A radical Iraqi cleric leading a Shi&#39;ite uprising has agreed to disarm his militia and leave one of the country&#39;s holiest Islamic shrines after warnings of an onslaught by government forces.
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Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has accepted a peace plan drafted by the Iraqi National Conference, which would include laying down arms and withdrawing his militia from a holy shrine in the city of Najaf, a delegate told the conference Wednesday.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Tens of thousands of chanting Iraqi  Shi'ites converged on a holy shrine in Najaf on Friday, where  some rebels began handing in weapons after a peace deal was  reached overnight to end a three-week uprising.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed Thursday to a peace deal presented by top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani to end three weeks of fighting in the holy city of Najaf, according to a top aide to al-Sistani.    Al-Sistani, the most influential cleric among Iraq's Shiite majority, reached the deal in direct talks with al-Sadr in the evening, only hours after making a dramatic return to Najaf...
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Militia fighters began to leave the Shrine of Imam Ali on Friday, taking up positions outside the sacred site or fleeing the city, after rebellious Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr offered to return custody of the complex to moderate clerics.
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Description: Militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr leave the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, honoring a peace agreement brokered by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Militants loyal to firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Saturday that they had handed over the keys to a revered Muslim shrine in the holy city of Najaf to top Shiite religious leaders, a move that marks a crucial step toward ending two weeks of fighting.    The militants, however, remain in control of the Imam Ali Shrine while final details of the transfer are worked out, said al-Sadr aide Ahmed al-Shaibany...
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NAJAF, Iraq - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters to lay down their arms and leave the area as thousands of Iraqis thronged the revered Imam Ali shrine Friday after he and the Iraqi government agreed to a peace proposal by Iraq's top Shiite cleric to end three weeks of fighting in Najaf.    Al-Sadr issued the order in a statement to his Mahdi Army militia from his office in Najaf that also was broadcast through loudspeakers at the shrine, which militants have used as a stronghold and refuge throughout their standoff with a combined U.S.-Iraqi force...
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At least six people were killed in attacks across Iraq Saturday, while the holy city of Najaf remained calm. Shi&#39;ite militiamen left its Imam Ali shrine earlier this week as part of a deal to end three weeks of fighting with US and Iraqi troops.
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Calm reigned in Najaf Friday, as Shi&#39;ite militants abandoned the holy Imam Ali shrine in accordance with a peace deal brokered by Iraq&#39;s top Shi&#39;ite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Prime Minister Ayad Allawi issued a "final call" Thursday to Shiite insurgents to disarm and withdraw from a revered shrine after his government threatened a massive onslaught by Iraqi forces. As a peace deal for Najaf unraveled, militants bombarded a police station with mortar rounds, killing seven police and injuring 31 others...
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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.