Shia peace mission reaches Najaf
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Iraq's top Shia cleric begins a peace mission in the city of Najaf, hours after a deadly attack on nearby Kufa.
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Iraqi security forces have advanced to within 400 metres (yards) of Najaf&#39;s Imam Ali shrine on Tuesday, a Reuters witness says.
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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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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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Iraq&#39;s interim government and the US military forces in Najaf were adopting a &quot;wait-and-see&quot; approach last night after giving Shia rebels 24 hours in which to agree a peace deal with the senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.
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NAJAF: Rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr and his Mehdi Army were preparing to hand over the keys to the Imam Ali shrine on Friday after Sadr agreed a peace initiative by Iraqâs top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to end fierce fighting in the
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Iraqi political leaders arrived in the embattled city of Najaf Tuesday on a mission to persuade rebellious Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr to disband his militia, vacate a religious shrine and participate in the country's political process.
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17 August 2004 -- Eight members of Iraq&#39;s National Conference arrived today in Al-Najaf in a bid to end a violent uprising in the city led by radical Shi&#39;ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
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27 August 2004 -- A deal has been reached to end three weeks of unrest in the Iraqi holy city of Al-Najaf when Iraq&#39;s top Shi&#39;ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, reached an agreement with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Hoping to end weeks of fighting in Najaf, Iraq's top Shiite cleric unexpectedly returned home from Britain on Wednesday armed with a new peace initiative and a call for Iraqis across the country to march on the holy city.    Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini Al-Sistani, who wields enormous influence among Shiite Iraqis, had previously declined to get involved in resolving the violent conflicts roiling the nation, and it was unclear why he suddenly changed his mind...
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Militants loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said yesterday 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 towards ending two weeks of fighting.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - A delegation of Iraqis arrived in Najaf on helicopters Tuesday to present radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr with a peace proposal aimed at ending the violent insurgency wracking the holy city.    The peace proposal, cobbled together Iraq's National Conference in Baghdad, demanded that al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia put down its arms and join Iraq's political process in exchange for amnesty...
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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.
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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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NAJAF, Iraq - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Wednesday to end fighting in Najaf that would disarm his militiamen and remove them from a holy shrine where they are hiding out, according to an al-Sadr spokesman. However, al-Sadr wanted to negotiate how the deal would be implemented...
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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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Iraq&#39;s most revered Shiite religious authority has agreed Thursday a &quot;very positive&quot; deal with rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to end a three-week uprising in the holy city of Najaf, as tensions were inflamed by attacks on Shiite marchers that killed at