US forces killed around 90 insurgents in Iraqi towns north and south of Baghdad yesterday, but talks in the holy city of Najaf between US and Iraqi forces and radical Shiite militiamen collapsed, Iraq's national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said yesterday.
"The talks have failed. All efforts to end this have not succeeded," he told reporters.
Militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have been battling US and Iraqi forces in Najaf for 10 days in fighting that has killed hundreds and sent thousands of protesters into the streets.
Fresh violence erupted elsewhere on the eve of a national conference for advancing the nation's progress towards democracy, already overshadowed by the Shiite Muslim uprising.
The US military said it had killed about 50 fighters near the northern town of Samarra, a mainly Sunni Muslim area where US troops have launched repeated raids to flush out guerrillas opposed to the presence of foreign troops in Iraq.
Planes dropped 227kg bombs, while insurgents responded with rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades, a US military statement said, adding that there were no US casualties.
Iraqi police in Samarra said at least five people were killed and 50 wounded in fighting in the area, 100km north of Baghdad.
Fighting also raged between US troops and al-Sadr's followers in the southern Shiite town of Hilla overnight. Forty fighters and three police were killed, Iraq's interior ministry said.
The clashes followed a day of relative calm in Najaf, where US marines backed by tanks and warplanes launched an assault on Thursday aimed at crushing a rebellion by al-Sadr's fighters.
The truce seemed to be holding for a second day in Najaf yesterday, allowing some residents to venture out and inspect the damage of more than a week of fighting.
Militiamen remained in some streets around the Imam Ali Mosque and a nearby vast cemetery while US forces patrolled other parts of the city.
US DEATHS
Separately, the US military reported that one soldier and one Marine were killed on Friday in western Iraq.
The surge in fighting has proved the most serious challenge for Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi since his government assumed power from US occupiers on June 28, tasked with steering the country to elections next January.
The national conference, due to open in Baghdad today, aims to pick a 100-member council to oversee the government.
Allawi said last week that the political process is open to all, but al-Sadr -- buoyed by mass protests of supporters on Friday -- appeared in no mood to cut a deal as his aides said they were offered too little too late.
Encircled by US troops in Najaf's sacred Imam Ali Mosque, al-Sadr pledged to stay in the city until victory or death, dampening hopes that Allawi's government would be able to negotiate a speedy end to the confrontation.
"I will not leave this holy city," he told his fighters, who chanted "no, no to America" in response.
"We will remain here defending the holy shrines till victory or martyrdom," he said.
Al-Sadr appeared before his supporters wearing bandages late on Friday, apparently confirming reports by aides that he had been wounded in fighting earlier in the day.
But Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib denied al-Sadr had been wounded.
Iraqi Defense Minister Hazim al-Shalaan told the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that foreign fighters were among those captured.
HEART SURGERY
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric who has been a voice for moderation and whose health could be crucial for Iraq's future stability, has successfully undergone heart surgery in London, an aide said yesterday.
He said there was no indication when the 73-year-old Muslim cleric would be well enough to return to Iraq.
Also See Story:
Al-Sadr militia attracts disaffected youth, Iraqis say
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS