Fierce fighting reported around Najaf shrine

Fierce fighting was reported around Najaf’s holy shrine today after a rebel cleric’s aide rejected a government ultimatum for Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia to disarm or risk a massive offensive.

Sheik Aws al-Khafaji, the head of al-Sadr’s office in the southern city of Nasiriyah, said the ultimatum proved the government “wants only war.”