Word: najaf
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...Sunday, Maliki's government announced the dismissal of more than 1,300 security personnel who deserted last month when fighting broke out between Iraqi government forces and the Mahdi Army in Basra. Sadr reacted swiftly to the news by issuing a statement from the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf Monday that said those who refused to take up arms against his militia were only doing their religious duty...
...Sadr, who was thought to be undertaking intensive religious studies in Iran over the past several months, is rumored to be back in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, where he keeps a political council. Salah al-Ubaide, a member of Sadr's Najaf council, said Sadr and his followers were still open to a political compromise that might end the current standoff-but held out little hope...
Some Sadrists suspect the Badr Brigade, which dominates Iraqi security forces throughout much of southern Iraq, is behind this latest assassination. Still, on Friday, rumors circulated among some Sadrists in Najaf that the assassination may have come from within their own faction. Moqtada al-Sadr, however, publicly blamed the United States for Nouri's death. "The occupier wants to cause sedition," said Sheikh Abdel Hadi al-Mohammedawi, an official at the Sadr office in the southern city of Karbala, speaking on behalf of Sadr. But Mohammedawi, also said that Sadr is urging his followers to stay calm...
...Iraqi government moved to pre-empt a violent outcry after the killing by imposing an immediate curfew across the province of Najaf until further notice. Wire services reported Najaf police had also shut down shops and ushered people off the streets. Dawa party member, Haider Al-Ebadi, in Baghdad, told TIME that he knew nothing about the incident, and declined to comment on the possibility for further unrest. "I know nothing about this accident, but we are very sorry about it," he said...
Whether the killing will, in fact, lead to more Shi'ite v. Shi'ite fighting in Najaf remains to be seen. Major Alayne Conway, a spokeswoman for the central division of the Multinational Forces, which operates in the Najaf area, told TIME: "I can tell you that one of our Military Transition Teams operating in Najaf was sent out to get an update on the situation and I know the Government of Najaf called us confirming that Riyadh al-Nouri was killed." But Conway was not aware of any violent reaction...