NEWS: Wire Reports Iraqi Police have entered Mosque

Reports state that al-Sadr's army has relinquished the Imam Ali shrine to Shia religious authorities. Reports have now been confirmed that the Iraqi police have entered the shrine.


NAJAF, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi police seized control of the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf on Friday after the fighters loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry said police peacefully entered the mosque Friday afternoon.

U.S. and Iraqi forces had surrounded the outskirts of the mosque compound Friday as part of offensive operations aimed at putting pressure on the fighters, who were holed up in the mosque complex.




Al Jazeera Report

www.cnn.com





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[edit on 8-20-2004 by Valhall]

[edit on 20-8-2004 by John bull 1]

Wow, so many different stories on this Najaf thing. I guess time will tell soon enough.

build.... yeah a lot of stories on it... it's a real "hot spot" right now, heaviest fighting most resistance... it's big news.

Now what I am curious about is if that kidnapped reporter is still going to be released after this event. Unfortunately the info on it is very slim but if the Iraqi Police/military raided this place, there will but alot of backlash and that reporters head will be the start of it.

[edit on 20-8-2004 by build319]

Well I will be watching the Russian news to see really what is going over there even if I can not understand a thing, but I still can look at the pictures.

This is so ridiculous that we have to base our knowledge of what is going in Iraq by what the media and government feeds, it is a reason why US and the poppet government of Iraq does not want Al-jazzera overthere.


[edit on 20-8-2004 by marg6043]

aljazeera isn't the only station/site to be shut down. www.jihadunspun.net has also been "taken down" for some weeks now it seems.

I be darn then so no news from the front lines now.

al-jazeera is testing cookies, be careful! (ASPX auto d/l)

Back to the subject,
August 21, 2004. 3:40am (AEST)
Confusion surrounds seizure of Iraqi mosque

But soon after the seizure was announced, a senior Sadr aide said the statement was untrue.

"The shrine is in the control of the Mehdi Army," said Sheikh Ahmad al-Sheibani, a top militia commander.

"The Mehdi Army will resist any attempt by the Iraqi police to control the shrine."

"Procedures are under way to hand over control of the shrine to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani," he added, referring to Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric.

Iraqi police in Najaf told CNN they did not control the Imam Ali Mosque.

And US Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic said he could not confirm the Najaf mosque was in government hands.

www.abc.net.au...

This is the latest episode I can find
Sanc'.

Moqtada al-Sadr, will do better for his cause if he becomes a political figure, he has people that will back him up and he has a lot of followers that are not happy with what is going on in Iraq.

Sadr 'gives up keys to mosque'
From correspondents in London
August 21, 2004
MILITIAMEN loyal to Shiite radical leader Moqtada Sadr handed the keys of Najaf's Imam Ali shrine to representatives of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani today, a spokesman for the top Shiite cleric said.

"The keys were handed to the office (in Najaf)," the ayatollah's spokesman, Sayed Murtadha al-Kashmiri, said in London, where the cleric has been receiving medical treatment.

news.com.au...

Sanc'.

Najaf, the sequel...
Confusion reigns in Najaf

From Sammy Ketz in Najaf, Iraq
August 21, 2004

SHIITE militiamen holed up in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf handed over the keys of their stronghold to aides of their faith's top cleric today, but denied they had capitulated in their 16-day standoff with US-backed security forces.

The handover of the keys to representatives of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani appeared to provide a face-saving way out of the crisis for militia leader Moqtada Sadr after his supporters earlier scoffed at government claims he had surrendered control of the Imam Ali shrine to Iraqi police.

A local pipeline linking the main northern Iraqi oilfields of Kirkuk to the Baiji refinery was also damaged when a bomb exploded, hampering oil distribution, said a firefighter attached to the North Oil Company.

news.com.au...

Sanc'.

Bomb damages local northern Iraqi pipeline

KIRKUK, Iraq - A local pipeline linking the main northern Iraqi oilfields of Kirkuk to the Baiji refinery was damaged when a makeshift bomb exploded early on Friday, hampering oil distribution, said a security source.

The bomb detonated at 8:30 am (0230 GMT), 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of Kirkuk, said fire fighter Ali Abdullah attached to the state-run North Oil Company, giving no further details.

www.khaleejtimes.com...

Sanc'.

Sanctum,

Thanks for keeping with the news, I believe the pipe is one of the important one.

I also saw another news in the link about Philipinos wanting to work in Iraq.

Maybe this should be another subject but why philipinos want to work in Iraq? they don't want to give work to the Iraqi people?

Sorry is off the subject, but I could not help myself.

Big step toward resolving a 2-week-old standoff in the holy city of Najaf:

Militiamen loyal to rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr removed weapons from the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf on Friday evening, but the militiamen themselves stayed.

Militants said Saturday that they handed over the keys to a revered Muslim shrine to representatives of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, who is in a London hospital

"We handed over the keys to al-Sistani's office, but the actual handing over of the shrine has not happened yet," he said.

"There are some issues that still need to be arranged and we are waiting a committee from al-Sistani's office to finish the procedure."

story.news.yahoo.com.../ap/20040821/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=2100" target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">AP

Those issues that still need to be arranged include handing over gold and money stored in the shrine compound.

The whereabouts of al-Sadr were unknown on Saturday.





[edit on 21-8-2004 by Riwka]

It seems that as this morning the shrine was still out of the hand of the Iraqi goverment and that the militia were waiting for some other cleric to come and take over.

And as Sadr not body knows where he is.

Originally posted by marg6043
It seems that as this morning the shrine was still out of the hand of the Iraqi goverment and that the militia were waiting for some other cleric to come and take over.

And as Sadr not body knows where he is.

Hi marg
I'm pretty sure 'they' know where Sadr is
Sanc'.

Finally the raid on the mosque will be performed tomorrow morning and so far is rumors that the mosque has been damage by the fight.

But we can not see anything because the ban of the medial in the area, talking about democracy it looks to me that it comes with a price, you opposed the poppet government in Iraq and you will die, and the media will be kept away.

August 25, 2004

A SHIITE insurgency appeared to be weakening as Iraqi forces moved to within 200m of the revered Imam Ali Shrine and Iraq's defence minister once again demanded fighters loyal to a radical cleric surrender or face a violent raid.

news.com.au...

Lets see what happens this time.
Sanc'.

Al Sadr's militia is called "the Medhi army.".
Medhi means the "Chosen One." The "Chosen One"
represents the Messiah of Islam prophesied to
immerge and lead Islam in victorious war
against the infidels. This is not just
another Saddam wannabe. This is the Prophet
considered by many to be a direct
spiritual descendent of Mohammed himself.
If occupying forces harm a hair on his head,
you can truly expect "war without end".
The smartest thing the NeoCons can do right
now is back off because they are getting in
way over their heads. and risk all their well
laid plans for the Empire.

This is the Prophet

Perhaps that is the reason that Al-Sadr has chosen that particular Mosque.
After all most clerics tend to claim ties to Mohamed one way or another.

But as late as this afternoon the Iraqi forces believe that Sadr is not longer in the city.