US cutting Najaf forces, holds off entry

By: Mohamed Ali

SYDNEY, Australia: American forces massed outside the holy city of Najaf say they will allow time for talks before any attempt to enter the holy city, and meanwhile Sky News reported Monday US military personnel are reducing their presence around Najaf.

The military is cautious of enraging Iraqis rather the whole Muslim world by sending troops into one of the most sacred cities of Islam that houses the holy Shrine of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (peace be on him) as well as burial places of Prophets Adam and Noah (peace be on them).

Commander of the 3rd Brigade Task Force near Najaf Col Dana Pittard said his 2,500-strong force would be replaced by around 2,000 1st Armoured Division soldiers in coming days.

The US military has lost more troops in combat in the last three weeks than in the three-week war that toppled Saddam Hussein. Since March 31, 104 US troops have been killed in action.

Najaf is where US-wanted cleric Moqtada As-Sadr and the bulk of his private army are holed up.

Negotiations are under way through intermediaries to find a peaceful solution to the stand-off. Representatives of Dawa party said they had met Iraq's US overseer Paul Bremer on Sunday for talks on Najaf.

Talking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television, the commander of coalition forces in Iraq said US troops poised outside Najaf would exercise restraint if and when they enter the holy Iraqi city.

“I think we are very, very conscious of the sensitivities of going into Najaf. We're very sensitive of the holy shrines, as we have always been when we've conducted operations in this country,” Sanchez said in an interview recorded at the weekend and broadcast Monday.

He said: “We'll be applying the same levels of constraint that we've always applied in operating in this country and making sure that we respect the people and that we respect their religious shrines.”

Sanchez said that the US military's aim was to capture or kill Sadr and destroy his militia.

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