Word: najaf
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...help salvage a mission that was turning into a mounting political disaster for Washington. Petraeus's brief visit had been billed as an "assessment" of the Iraqi forces. But its mission was far more serious. Weeks of all-out armed revolt in Fallujah and the Shiite southern cities of Najaf and Karbala had left hundreds dead, and made key towns virtual no-go areas for both U.S. soldiers and the fledgling Iraqi forces. Worse, time was running out. U.S. officials had made the June 30 date for transferring sovereign authority an inviolable deadline. The terms on which U.S. forces would...
...Fallujah in April, the U.S. last week chose to deal instead of fight, this time accepting a truce with the Shi'ite militia loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, 30. The U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division agreed to pull back from the holy city of Najaf in a deal pushed by Grand Ayatullah Ali Husaini Sistani, the most respected Shi'ite leader in the country...
...Mahdi Army's tactics are simple but effective. Hajji Ali, 38, is a former history teacher from Sadr City, al-Sadr's stronghold in Baghdad. He commands a small group of fighters in Najaf and explains how they operate. "I came with 10 men, and the commanders here gave me a part of the city to defend," he says. "When the Americans advance, we harass and retreat, fire from new positions and then retreat again. If the attacking force is too big, we call for support." In the past month, three in his unit have been killed and five injured...
...troops push into the center of Najaf later on Friday, a group of militiamen starts to dance in a circle, chanting with growing intensity. Later, a proud fighter reports to his comrades, "We destroyed two tanks." Though the U.S. military has reported no casualties in the area, the insurgents spread their version of reality. The Americans sacrificed dozens of men to recover the hulks, the fighter claims, and explains to journalists why nothing remains from the site of the battle: "They brought along a huge machine that sucked up all the parts, so there is nothing left...
Outside, toward evening, the fighting has stopped, and the gunmen gather to swap war stories. One slightly injured fighter stands in the back alley that leads to al-Sadr's Najaf headquarters. "A mortar round burst right by us, but no one was seriously injured, thanks be to God," he says. As he speaks, a crowd carrying a coffin draped in an Iraqi flag marches past the shrine. The first "martyr" of the day is being buried...