Word: najaf
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...TIME In Najaf and Sadr City, is the counteroffensive mainly an American show...
...forces as a rival gang on its turf. Two weeks ago, government security men arrested one of al-Sadr's closest aides in nearby Karbala, and the truce unraveled from there. Al-Sadr's militiamen then accused U.S. Marines, who have recently taken over responsibility for policing Najaf, of breaking the cease-fire's rules by moving into parts of the city that were supposed to be off limits to them. U.S. officials put the blame on the militia: in the early hours of Aug. 5, Mahdi fighters assaulted a police station with such ferocity that the Iraqis inside...
Making matters worse was the absence of Sistani, who left his home in Najaf two weeks ago for medical treatment in London. Al-Sadr supporters say the U.S. was exploiting his absence to crack down on the populist cleric. But Sistani's associates say al-Sadr was the one taking advantage of the ayatullah's departure to intensify his campaign against the U.S. Just before undergoing angioplasty, the Grand Ayatullah issued a strong statement calling on all parties to stop the fighting...
TIME Whom exactly are you fighting in Najaf and Sadr City...
Well, I don't know. We really don't know. We have arrested a lot of people in Najaf, and when we ask them who they're with, they say they are not with al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. The crimes that have been committed have been quite obvious. You visit Basra now and see the destruction of the oil pipeline. Or if you go and ask the [families of the] people who were killed, the innocent bystanders, and you go and meet the families of the policemen who were killed in Najaf ... These are really acts of criminals...