Al-Sadr offers to remove fighters from Najaf
Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has agreed to withdraw his militia from Najaf and hand the city back to Iraqi police, the government said, raising hopes for an end to weeks of fighting with coalition forces.
The announcement by National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie took place after US troops arrested al-Sadr’s key lieutenant in a pre-dawn raid. Clashes late Tuesday and early yesterday between US troops and militia fighters killed 24 people and wounded nearly 50, hospital and militia officials said.
