-
Related
US and Iraqi forces killed 250 gunmen in a fierce battle
involving US tanks and helicopters on the outskirts of the Shi'ite
holy city of Najaf on Sunday, a senior Iraqi police officer
said.
The day-long battle was continuing after nightfall, Colonel Ali
Nomas told Reuters, as tens of thousands of pilgrims converged on
the nearby city of Kerbala for the climax of the Ashura
commemorations.
A US helicopter was shot down in the fighting, Iraq security
sources said. The US military declined comment. A
Reuters reporter saw a helicopter come down trailing smoke.
Shi'ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni
Arabs and Shi'ites loyal to a cleric called Ahmed Hassani.
In Baghdad, 13 people were killed in bombings in mainly Shi'ite
areas, police said.
Twin car bombs targeting ethnic Kurds killed 16 people as night
fell in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, whose population is a
volatile mix of Kurds, Turkmen and Sunni and Shi'ite Arabs.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have converged on Iraq's other
main Shi'ite holy city, Kerbala, for Ashura, marking the 7th
century Battle of Kerbala, which helped consolidate the schism
between Shi'ite and Sunni Islam. It ends on Monday.
It is the first time the 10-day annual ritual has been held since
violence erupted last February between Iraq's majority Shi'ites and
once-dominant minority Sunnis. Tens of thousands have since
been killed in tit-for-tat killings.
The governor of Najaf province said Iraqi troops fought a day-long
battle with up to 200 Sunni gunmen, including foreign fighters,
holed up in orchards on the northern outskirts of the city, seat of
Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite clerics.
Governor Asaad Abu Gilel told Reuters the authorities had uncovered
a plot to kill some of the clerics on Monday, to coincide with the
climax of Ashura.
"There is a conspiracy to kill the clergy on the 10th day of
Muharram," Najaf governor Abu Gilel said, referring to the day of
the Muslim calendar on Monday.
A Reuters reporter about 1.5 kilometre from the fighting said he
heard intense gunfire and saw US helicopters rocket groves
sheltering militants. He saw smoke trailing from one
helicopter before it came down in the midst of the fighting.
He was unable to see what had happened to the helicopter, but
officers in Iraq's 8th Army Division and policemen said it had
crashed and that the two crew members were dead. The US
military said it did not comment on operations still taking
place.
World News Video
-
Dangerous rush to Everest summit (1:59)
-
Dozens killed in Syrian massacre (2:09)
-
'King of Romance' competes in Eurovision (1:46)
