Militia, Shiite Leaders Bicker Over Shrine
478819
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...
567086
NAJAF, Iraq - Militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr kept their hold on a revered shrine as clashes flared in Najaf on Sunday, raising fears a resolution to the crisis in the holy city could collapse amid bickering between Shiite leaders.    An unofficial mediator and distant relative of the cleric pleaded with al-Sadr to disarm his militants, pull them out of the shrine and disband his militia immediately...
655943
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military and Iraqi Shiite and tribal leaders held talks Sunday aimed at reducing tensions in the Baghdad's Sadr City slum, where 10 people died in fighting a day earlier between Shiite militiamen and U.S...
215025
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
236793
NAJAF, Iraq  - US marines and a radical Iraqi cleric are locked in a tense standoff after the firebrand leader refused to leave a holy shrine in Najaf despite earlier agreeing to disarm his militia and withdraw.
720170
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.
548782
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...
618487
The US military clashed aggressively with forces of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as negotiations to end the standoff at one of Islam&#39;s most revered shrines remained stalled.
589277
Najaf Governor Adnan Zorfi told Al-Arabiya television channel that Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, was expected to evacuate their stronghold in the shrine of Imam Ali, where they had been ensconced for four ...
39212
NAJAF, Iraq - Guns were largely silent in Najaf for the first time in weeks and thousands of Iraqis thronged the revered Imam Ali shrine Friday after Iraq's top Shiite cleric made a dramatic return to this holy city and won agreement from a rebel cleric and the government to end the fighting between his militia and U.S.-Iraqi forces.    The renegade Muqtada al-Sadr accepted the proposal in a face-to-face meeting Thursday night with the 75-year-old Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani...
144807
In the face-off at the shrine, U.S.  and Iraqi leaders vowed to crush  al-Sadr's rebellion. But they may have stoked the insurgency even  more
417875
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.
129721
Loyalists of Moqtada Sadr remained in control of Imam Ali shrine after failing to reach an agreement with Shiite leader on how to hand over the holy site.
280157
NAJAF, Iraq - Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters Thursday to hand control of a revered Najaf shrine to top Shiite religious authorities, hours after U.S. forces bombed militant positions and Iraq's prime minister made a "final call" for the cleric's militia to surrender...
40496
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...
428435
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.
670302
NAJAF, Iraq - With U.S. forces bombing militant positions and gunbattles raging, radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters to hand control of a revered Najaf shrine to top Shiite religious authorities but refused to disband his militia...