Najaf fighting dominates assembly meeting

IRAQI leaders met for a second day yesterday to pick an interim national assembly, but fighting in Najaf dominated the event, piling pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to hold more talks with Shi’ite rebels.

Residents said the holy city was tense as Shi’ite militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr roamed the streets near the Imam Ali Mosque and an ancient cemetery, from where they have attacked US and Iraqi forces during the 12-day conflict.

“I can tell you that the Najaf fighting is dominating the whole conference. We hope this issue can be solved so we can proceed with our work,” said Hamid al-Kifaey, one delegate. Insurgents fired mortars at the meeting just hours after it opened on Sunday, killing at least two people on the edge of the fortified compound where the three-day gathering is being held.

The brazen attack starkly illustrated Iraq’s precarious security as politicians and religious leaders plot the country’s road to democracy ahead of January elections.

The meeting will choose a 100-member assembly, or national council, to oversee Mr Allawi’s interim government until the elections.

Several blasts echoed across central Baghdad yesterday, but none appeared to come from the Green Zone compound. However, warning sirens sounded at one stage from the area.

Fresh fighting between US forces and Sadr’s Mehdi militia broke out in a Shi’ite slum in Baghdad, witnesses said. They said US troops were sealing off the area, called Sadr City.

A French journalist holding a US passport has been seized in the southern city of Nassiriya, al-Jazeera television reported. The television said it had learned the journalist was an archaeological reporter. It did not give further details.

The French and American embassies said they had no information on the report. Last week, gunmen kidnapped and then freed a British journalist in the southern city of Basra.

Militants in Iraq have waged a campaign of kidnapping aimed at driving out individuals, companies and troops supporting US forces and the new Iraqi interim administration.

While clashes have resumed in Najaf since the collapse of peace talks on Saturday, US and Iraqi forces have not launched a fresh all-out offensive.

The fighting has killed hundreds and underlined the divisions in Iraq over the US-backed government. Despite his radical views, many Iraqis have backed Sadr in the conflict, incensed that American forces are fighting so close to Shi’ite Islam’s holiest site.

Three US soldiers were killed on Sunday in Najaf province, the military said.