FOXNews.com - Top Stories - U.S. Troops Battle Al-Sadr Militia : "Iraqi leaders in another holy city, Najaf , discussed how to peacefully resolve the confrontation between al-Sadr and the U.S.-led coalition, which is seeking to arrest al-Sadr in the murder of a rival cleric. Coalition officials have said they welcome efforts to work for a peaceful solution, even though they will not negotiate with the cleric and want him to face justice.
Half of the Mukhaiyam mosque in Karbala (search) was destroyed in the fighting. Most shops in Tal al-Zeinabiya, a central market, and three ambulances and two military vehicles also were destroyed.
Fighting subsided by dusk as the call for evening prayers spread across Karbala from loudspeakers at the Imam Hussein mosque, one of the most sacred shrines of Shia Islam.
Iraqi guards manned the shrine gates to prevent al-Sadr's fighters from entering. Explosions and machine-gun fire continued intermittently as night fell. Fighters pushed a wounded comrade down a street on a pushcart. Jets flew overhead as militiamen took up new positions near another holy site, the Imam Abbas shrine.
Al-Sadr's fighters acknowledged they lost control of the Mukhaiyam mosque, less than a mile from the Imam Hussein shrine.
'We put up a very stiff resistance,' said Ameer Latif, a 30-year-old militiaman. Another fighter, Amar Haider, leaned against a wall with his Kalashnikov rifle and said: 'God willing, we shall still be victorious.'"
The Americans and the Iraqi forces are now within a mile of the Najaf mosque, and Al-Sadr's office across the street
Half of the Mukhaiyam mosque in Karbala (search) was destroyed in the fighting. Most shops in Tal al-Zeinabiya, a central market, and three ambulances and two military vehicles also were destroyed.
Fighting subsided by dusk as the call for evening prayers spread across Karbala from loudspeakers at the Imam Hussein mosque, one of the most sacred shrines of Shia Islam.
Iraqi guards manned the shrine gates to prevent al-Sadr's fighters from entering. Explosions and machine-gun fire continued intermittently as night fell. Fighters pushed a wounded comrade down a street on a pushcart. Jets flew overhead as militiamen took up new positions near another holy site, the Imam Abbas shrine.
Al-Sadr's fighters acknowledged they lost control of the Mukhaiyam mosque, less than a mile from the Imam Hussein shrine.
'We put up a very stiff resistance,' said Ameer Latif, a 30-year-old militiaman. Another fighter, Amar Haider, leaned against a wall with his Kalashnikov rifle and said: 'God willing, we shall still be victorious.'"
The Americans and the Iraqi forces are now within a mile of the Najaf mosque, and Al-Sadr's office across the street
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