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Iraq says Sadr in Najaf talks, Briton kidnapped
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-13 21:32
Iraq's interim government said on Friday Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was
negotiating to leave a shrine in the holy city of Najaf, after conflicting
reports on whether the firebrand was wounded in a U.S. raid.
Spokesmen for the leader of the radical Shi'ite Muslim uprising in central
and southern Iraq said he had been wounded in a bombing raid, though his
injuries were not life-threatening. Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said Sadr
was unhurt and that a truce took effect in Najaf last night.
Gunmen also kidnapped a British journalist in the southern city of Basra and
threatened to execute him within 24 hours if U.S. forces did not pull out of
Najaf.
A spokesman for Sadr appealed to the captors of Sunday Telegraph reporter
James Brandon to release him.
A video grab taken
from Reuters television footage released on August 13, 2004, shows British
journalist James Brandon (R) having a cloth wrapped around his head by a
hooded militant in Iraq. [Reuters] |
The
nine-day rebellion in Najaf has killed hundreds and threatened to undermine the
rule of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who is walking a tightrope trying to crush a
radical Shi'ite rebellion across seven cities that has hit vital oil exports.
Speaking on Thursday after U.S. marines backed by aircraft and tanks launched
a major assault on Sadr's Mehdi fighters around the Imam Ali Mosque and an
ancient cemetery -- both militia strongholds -- Allawi urged the fighters to
surrender.
Sadr spokesman Ahmad al-Shinabi said the cleric was wounded at 4.30 a.m.
(8:30 p.m. EDT) in the cemetery.
"He was in the cemetery at the time. He was wounded in the chest, arm and
leg," Shinabi told Reuters in Najaf.
Minister Naqib denied the claims and said a truce had been in force since
last night, although residents said there were sporadic clashes overnight from
the city center. Witnesses said U.S. forces had allowed several ambulances to
enter the area and take out at least eight wounded Mehdi fighters.
"Sayyed Moqtada will not be touched if he leaves the shrine peacefully...,"
Naqib said.
RAID IN NEARBY KUFA
Brigadier General Erv Lessel, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said
"clearing" operations to isolate the militia were under way in Najaf, throwing
doubt on the truce.
Iraqi civilians
walk past an American armored vehicle patroling the holy city of Najaf in
southern Iraq, Friday Aug. 13, 2004.
[AP] |
Lessel also said he could not confirm
Sadr had been wounded, adding U.S. forces were under instructions not to pursue
him.
In the southern city of Kufa, 10 km (6 miles) from Najaf, Iraqi security
forces killed several people in a raid on a Sadr stronghold, U.S. Marine Captain
Carrie Batson told CNN.
Despite the government denial about Sadr's condition, the news could trigger
outrage from the majority Shi'ite community, where there is growing anger at the
U.S. assault near Iraq's holiest Shi'ite sites even from those who scorn Sadr's
views.
Thousands of Sadr supporters protested in front of the Green Zone compound
housing the Iraqi government and the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Several Iraqi
police took part, holding up posters of the cleric and putting them on their
vehicle windows.
TERRIFIED JOURNALIST
Witnesses said gunmen seized the British journalist from a hotel in mainly
Shi'ite Basra early on Friday morning.
The kidnappers instructed a freelance cameraman working for Reuters to film
their terrified captive. The video tape showed a hooded militant standing next
to the bare-chested journalist, who wore a head bandage.
The militants threatened to kill Brandon if the United States did not
withdraw its forces from Najaf.
"I'm a journalist. I just write about what's happening in Iraq," said
Brandon.
U.S. marines captured Najaf's city center on Thursday. They also stormed
Sadr's home, only to find it empty.
They blocked off entry to the Imam Ali Mosque -- from where Mehdi fighters
have launched attacks during the rebellion -- but have kept out of the sacred
Shi'ite Muslim shrine.
The assault on Thursday drove world oil prices to new highs. Iraqi oil
exports were flowing normally from southern fields on Friday and on the markets,
U.S. light crude slipped 15 cents to $45.35 a barrel, below Thursday's record of
$45.75 for oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Mehdi militia has warned the offensive could trigger more attacks on
Iraq's oil infrastructure.
Sadr's spokesmen have said he is leading the defense and has urged his
militia to keep fighting even if he is killed.
Analysts have warned of a backlash even if the Imam Ali Mosque is undamaged
and the militia beaten in Najaf. They said resentment could pose long-term
consequences for Allawi.
Some 2,000 U.S. servicemen and 1,800 Iraqi security men are deployed around
Najaf, a city of 600,000 about 100 miles south of Baghdad.
U.S. forces say they have killed more than 360 Sadr fighters so far in Najaf.
Sadr's spokesmen say far fewer have died in what is the second rebellion by the
militia in four months.
Gunmen have kidnapped scores of foreigners in Iraq since April to press
foreign forces and companies to leave Iraq. Many have been released but around
nine have been killed.
Some 20 foreign hostages are still being held.
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