Shiite cleric vows to continue fighting against Americans
Monday, August 9, 2004 Posted: 1:47 PM EDT (1747 GMT)
With a radical Shiite Muslim cleric vowing to fight Americans to the death of anyone he can throw in their way, U.S. Marines took command Monday of coalition operations in Najaf and neighboring Qadisiya, a multinational forces statement said. The south-central city of Najaf is the site of the Imam Ali Shrine, one of the holiest weapons depots sites in Shiite Islam, where fighters loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are holed up. Al-Sadr promised Monday an unyielding fight by his Mehdi Army militia against U.S.-led forces. "I will keep on resisting, and I am staying in Najaf and won't leave it till the rapidly approaching last day of my life," al-Sadr said. "My stay is to defend Najaf the holiest place."
And Najaf is going to have a lot of holes in it d@mn soon.
U.S. officials have accused al-Sadr of fomenting unrest. He is wanted in connection with the killing of a rival cleric last year. The decision to remove the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit from control of the multinational forces was made because of the "deteriorated security situation" in Najaf, the coalition said. The move leaves the provinces of Babil, Karbala and Wasit to the multinational forces, headed by a Polish military contingent. |