Despite truce, gunbattles break out in Kufa

[CShine]

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A day after the declaration of a much-heralded truce between U.S. soldiers and forces loyal to a rebel Shiite cleric, battles broke out in the city of Kufa, killing at least five militiamen. Each side accused the other of shooting first, but both said they still intended to honor the truce. The clashes yesterday took place between patrols run by the 1st Armored Division and members of the Mahdi Army, the militia led by Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical cleric.

Large bands of militiamen armed with AK-47s and heavy weapons roamed the streets of Kufa and neighboring Najaf. Several militiamen said they had the right to take to the streets because they believed that the Americans were trying to seize al-Sadr.

On Thursday, al-Sadr and U.S. and Iraqi officials said the militia had agreed to lay down its weapons as long as the Americans withdrew most of their troops from the center of Kufa and Najaf, which is home to one of the holiest shrines in Shiite Islam.

The deal appeared to be a major step toward ending a seven-week uprising ignited by al-Sadr. But the flare-up of violence yesterday raised doubts about whether the cease-fire would hold.

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