Dispute Over Iraqi Cleric, Said to Have Gone to Iran
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Two Shiite leaders took exception with suggestions that Moktada al-Sadr had fled because of a crackdown on militias.
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Supporters of the anti-American cleric say reports of his flight to Iran are false. But clerics in Najaf tell TIME there are signs he has left the city
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NAJAF, Iraq - Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric returned home from Britain on Wednesday to help broker an end to nearly three weeks of fighting in Najaf and is calling on his followers to join him in a march to reclaim the holy city, his spokesmen and witnesses said.    Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani return came as heavy fighting persisted in Najaf's Old City...
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AGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 17  A delegation of Iraqis was delayed for security reasons today but still intended to visit Najaf to try to convince a rebellious Shiite cleric and his militia to evacuate a shrine in the holy city and end ...
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The U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said Wednesday that all indications showed that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr remained in Iran.
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However, key members of the cleric&#39;s movement insisted terms of the deal had not been finalised. The claims and counterclaims followed an announcement Tuesday by prime minister Ayad Allawi that the basis of
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NAJAF, Aug 22: Heavy clashes flared between US troops and militiamen in Najaf on Sunday after the suspension of a proposed hand over of the militia&#39;s shrine stronghold to Iraq&#39;s religious leadership.
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NAJAF, Iraq -- Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most respected Muslim cleric, returned to this beleaguered city yesterday and persuaded rebel leader Moqtada al-Sadr to end a bloody three-week standoff with US and Iraqi government forces.
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The grass-roots movement led by Shiite clergy is signaling its doubts about the Iraqi election, ending months of ambiguity over whether Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr had surrendered his arms for a place in the political process.
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Representatives of Iraq's interim government have visited Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in London where he is recovering after medical treatment, a statement said.
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A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday the "death knell" had sounded for a U.S.-sponsored Arab-Israeli peace conference, which has drawn skeptical remarks from some Arab countries that are expected to take part.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric returned to the country from Britain on Wednesday and his aides called for a nationwide march to Najaf to end nearly three weeks of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and Shiite militants in this holy city...
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NAJAF, Iraq  - A radical cleric prepared to hand  control of a shrine at the heart of a Shi'ite uprising in Iraq  to religious authorities on Friday, but still rejected demands  by the interim prime minister to disband his militia.
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The U.S. military said Wednesday it's concerned about Iraq's Shiite Medhi militia, although its leader, anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, remains in neighboring Iran.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Iraq's top Shiite cleric unexpectedly returned to Iraq from Britain on Wednesday armed with a new peace initiative and a call for Iraqis across the country to march on the holy city to demand an end to weeks of fighting in Najaf.    But a mortar attack on the main mosque in the nearby city of Kufa killed 25 people and wounded 60 others Thursday, hospital officials and witnesses said, a blow to hopes that the crisis could be resolved peacefully...
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric made a  sudden return to the country Wednesday and said he had a plan  to end an uprising in the "burning city" of Najaf, where  fighting is creeping ever closer to its holiest shrine.
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A firebrand Iraqi Islamic cleric is reported to have agreed to withdraw his armed militia from around the city of Najaf. The news came as a conference chose a national council to oversee the workings of the Iraqi interim government.