Najaf: US assault on the house of Sadr
The US marines have entered the heart of the holy city of Najaf at the center of Iraq, today.
American soldiers have assaulted the house of the radical Shi'ite leader Moqtada Sadr, but they would find him two kilometers from there in the sanctuary of Imam Ali.
The American forces, which confronted the militias during the week, launched a grand offensive but have not dared to enter the holy places of Najaf.
The US forces have piled on the militia of the army of Mehdi, loyal to Moqtada Sadr, in a cemetery near the mosque of Imam Ali. And at the end of the afternoon Thursday, US planes bombed objectives situated near the residence of the leader. The combatants are run to ground, according to witnesses, while the marines block the entrance to the sanctuary of Imam Ali, one of the most sacred sanctuaries for the Shi'ites, where numerous militiamen take refuge.
The interim Iraqi prime minister, Iyad Allaoui, asked the militias to give up their arms, but the spokesman of Sadr swore the they would never give them up.
Elsewhere, the American air force violently bombarded the Iraqi city of Kout, killing 84 persons. 176 persons were also wounded, according the head of the local hospital, Qassem al- Mayahi. Most of the victims are women and children, according to another official at the hospital.
The bombardments, begun towards 1 am, lasted about 2 hours, and intervened after combat between militias and Iraqi security forces, according to a police officer, Salem Fakhri.
According to the interim Iraqi government, 400 militiamen were killed, wounded, or captured in Kout.
In Sadr City, confrontations caused 44 deaths, at Amara 14 persons perished, and at Diwaniya, east of Najaf, 7 persons were killed, according to the minister.
Despite the violent combats, the Iraqi government intends to open the National Conference on Sunday. That conference will be able to choose a National Council of one hundred members, charged with controlling the work of the interim government until the legislative elections foreseen for January.
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