Sadr gives up Najaf shrine
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SHIITE militia leader Moqtada Sadr has ceded control of his shrine stronghold to representatives of the religious leadership following a deal with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to end weeks of deadly fighting that has devastated the Iraqi city of Najaf.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Militants loyal to firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Saturday that they had handed over the keys to a revered Muslim shrine in the holy city of Najaf to top Shiite religious leaders, a move that marks a crucial step toward ending two weeks of fighting.    The militants, however, remain in control of the Imam Ali Shrine while final details of the transfer are worked out, said al-Sadr aide Ahmed al-Shaibany...
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Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on his fighters to lay down arms and leave the holy city of Najaf. It follows a deal brokered by Iraq&#39;s top Shiite cleric that ended weeks of violence.
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Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters Thursday to hand control of a revered Najaf shrine to top Shiite religious authorities, hours after U.S. forces bombed militant positions and Iraq's prime minister made a "final call" for the cleric's militia to surrender.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - A radical Iraqi cleric leading a  Shi'ite uprising agreed Wednesday to disarm his militia and  leave one of the country's holiest Islamic shrines after  warnings of an onslaught by government forces.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Rebel Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr  on Friday ordered his men inside Najaf's Imam Ali mosque to lay  down their weapons and join thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims  outside the shrine.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Followers loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Friday they were prepared to hand control of the revered Imam Ali Shrine to top Shiite religious authorities, and Iraq's interim prime minister said he would not storm the holy site.    The moves came after a day and night of fighting in Najaf that killed 77 people and wounded 70 others, as al-Sadr militiamen mortared a police station and U.S...
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NAJAF, Iraq  - A radical Iraqi cleric leading a  Shi'ite uprising agreed Wednesday to disarm his militia and  leave one of the country's holiest Islamic shrines, but only  after a truce with encircling U.S. Marines.
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Militants filed out of the Imam Ali Shrine, closed the doors behind them and turned over the keys to Iraq&#39;s top Shiite cleric Friday, symbolizing their acceptance of a peace deal to end three weeks of devastating fighting in this holy
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Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his followers to hand over control of Najaf&#39;s Imam Ali Mosque, while refusing to dissolve his militia, according to reports on Arab news channels cited by the Associated Press.
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Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Wednesday calling for his militiamen to disarm and leave their hideout in a revered Shiite shrine, raising hopes of ending a battle that has threatened to undermine Iraq's fledgling interim government.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters to lay down their arms and leave the area as thousands of Iraqis thronged the revered Imam Ali shrine Friday after he and the Iraqi government agreed to a peace proposal by Iraq's top Shiite cleric to end three weeks of fighting in Najaf.    Al-Sadr issued the order in a statement to his Mahdi Army militia from his office in Najaf that also was broadcast through loudspeakers at the shrine, which militants have used as a stronghold and refuge throughout their standoff with a combined U.S.-Iraqi force...
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: Shia fighters left the holiest shrine in Najaf today and began turning in their weapons, after tens of thousands of pilgrims celebrated a peace agreement that ended a bloody rebellion.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Wednesday to end fighting in Najaf that would disarm his militiamen and remove them from a holy shrine where they are hiding out, according to an al-Sadr spokesman. However, al-Sadr wanted to negotiate how the deal would be implemented...
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Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said Moktada al-Sadr should move quickly to fulfill his vow to disarm and leave the shrine in Najaf.
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NAJAF, Iraq -- Radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters yesterday to hand control of a revered Najaf shrine to top Shi'ite religious authorities, hours after US forces bombed militant positions and Iraq's prime minister made a ''final call&quot; for the cleric's militia to surrender.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Militiamen loyal to rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr removed weapons from the revered Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf but remained in control of the holy site Friday amid efforts to end their 2-week-old uprising.    Fighters from al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia were inside the shrine but left their guns outside...