Blasts in Iraq's Kufa, militias rush to fight

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040416/ts_nm/iraq_clashes_dc&cid=564&ncid=1480

KUFA, Iraq, April 16 (Reuters) - Witnesses in Iraq's holy Shi'ite town of Kufa heard a series of explosions on Friday and saw dozens of armed militiamen rushing to the town's outskirts, where there were reports of clashes with foreign troops.

At least four white pickups full of armed members of the Mehdi Army, the militia of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al Sadr, headed for the eastern fringes of Kufa, a town close to Najaf, where the cleric is hiding from U.S. troops vowing to kill or capture him.

Others, carrying assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, went on foot and militia members said there had been fighting with occupying forces.


A Reuters correspondent in Kufa saw several columns of smoke rising after the blasts.

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[Judi Lynn]

1. Sorry to hear this.

(snip)
U.S. troops have reinforced Spanish and Polish soldiers in the area around Najaf, preparing for a possible campaign to root out Sadr and his militia, which they have promised to destroy.
(snip)

[Cooley Hurd]

2. I thought an agreement was struck w/ Sadr?

I guess it was tenuous :( :shrug:

[Barrett808]

3. Just the cease-fire before the next round of combat

All sides are taking a breather before going at it again.