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Warrant issued for radical Shiite cleric

Apr- 5-2004 » Filed Under: Iraq News

[Link to Full Article]
By HAMZA HENDAWI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An Iraqi judge has issued a murder arrest warrant for a radical Shiite Muslim cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, for the slaying of another Shiite leader shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of the country, coalition officials said Monday.

Meanwhile, U.S. troops on Monday sealed off the city of Fallujah west of Baghdad, where some 1,200 Marines and two battalions of Iraqi security forces were poised to launch an operation aimed at pacifying the city, one of the most violent places in the Sunni Triangle.

Explosions and gunfire could be heard coming from the center of the city. Streets on the outskirts were largely deserted.

The announcement of the warrant came a day after violent clashes between militiamen loyal to al-Sadr that killed 52 Iraqis, eight U.S. soldiers and a Salvadoran soldier - some of the worst gunbattles since the ouster of Saddam Hussein.


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