Sporadic Clashes in Najaf, Handover Talks Hit Snag
22280
NAJAF, Iraq  - Fighters loyal to Iraqi cleric  Moqtada al-Sadr clashed sporadically with U.S. troops in Najaf  Saturday after talks with religious authorities to end a siege  at the city's holiest shrine ran into difficulties.
548782
NAJAF, Iraq - Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf's Old City on Sunday in a fierce battle between U.S. forces and Shiite militants, as negotiations dragged on for the handover of the shrine that the fighters have used for their stronghold...
140354
U.S. troops clashed with Shi'ite militiamen in Najaf on Saturday, interrupting a day of relative calm in the holy city with the sound of mortar, rocket-propelled grenade and machinegun fire, witnesses said.
588515
Sporadic gunfire, explosions and a US bombing raid shook the city of Najaf today as militants retained control of a revered shrine, raising fears that a plan to end the crisis could collapse amid bickering between Shiite leaders.
86409
NAJAF, Iraq  - U.S. tanks advanced to within 800  yards of the Imam Ali mosque in the Iraqi city of Najaf on  Sunday after talks on surrendering control of the shrine at the  center of an 18-day siege ran into trouble.
180920
Najaf, after three weeks of fighting, has more or less settled down from a military standpoint. The sometimes-fierce combat has ended.
314434
U.S. troops clashed with Shi'ite  militiamen in Najaf on Saturday, interrupting a day of relative  calm in the holy city with the sound of mortar,  rocket-propelled grenade and machinegun fire, witnesses said.
414223
NAJAF, Iraq - Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf's Old City on Sunday in a fierce battle between U.S. forces and Shiite militants, as negotiations dragged on for the handover of the revered shrine that the fighters have used for their stronghold...
4275
Friday&#39;s defusing of the three-week military standoff in Najaf has the disappointing result that Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his militia survive to fight another battle, threatening US military forces and the fledgling Iraqi government.
147081
Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf today amid fierce battles between US forces and Shiite militants, who remained in control of a revered shrine there as negotiations dragged on for its handover to religious authorities.
741716
NAJAF, Iraq - Sporadic gunfire echoed through Najaf on Friday after a night of heavy U.S. bombing that saw radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr call on his fighters to hand control of a revered Najaf shrine to top Shiite religious authorities...
215782
NAJAF, Iraq -- Radical Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr refused yesterday to meet with a delegation of Iraqi political figures that had rushed here from Baghdad with a last-ditch offer for peace, deflating hopes for a quick resolution to the confrontation between Sadr's militia and US and Iraqi security forces.
534945
NAJAF, Iraq -- A Shi'ite Muslim insurgency appeared to be weakening last night as Iraqi forces moved to within 200 yards of the revered Imam Ali Shrine and Iraq's defense minister once again demanded fighters loyal to a radical cleric surrender or face a violent raid.
497526
NAJAF, Iraq  - Fighters loyal to Iraqi cleric  Moqtada al-Sadr retained their grip on the Imam Ali shrine in  Najaf on Saturday, dampening hopes that talks with religious  authorities would quickly end a two-week siege.
144417
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A national political conference&#39;s bid to end the fighting in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf appeared to have failed Tuesday.
683927
NAJAF, Iraq  - Heavy fighting has broken out between Iraqi Shi&#39;ite militiamen and US troops in the holy city of Najaf, leaving many people killed and wounded, medical officials say.
352976
Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf&#39;s Old City on Sunday in a fierce battle between US forces and Shiite militants, as negotiations dragged on for the handover