Iraqi delegation reaches Najaf

A delegation of Iraqis hoping to negotiate an end to the uprising in Najaf has arrived in the city by helicopter today.

The mediators from Iraq’s National Conference were hoping to meet radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and appeal to his followers to put down their arms and join Iraq’s political process.

“This delegation is not negotiating, it is conveying the proposal,” said delegation head Hussein al-Sadr, a distant relative of the rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. “I hope this delegation will be able to solve one of the big problems that hit our country.”

US embassy spokesman Bob Callahan said the United States was providing the delegation with two helicopters.