Shiite gunmen seized a police station in the holy city of Najaf and held it for two hours Thursday in the first outbreak of fighting since an agreement to end weeks of bloody clashes between U.S. troops and militia forces. Four Iraqis were killed and 13 were injured, hospital and militia officials said.
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Chaos swept the southern city of Najaf after gunmen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr overran the Ghari police station, which is 250 yards from the Imam Ali Shrine, witnesses said. The station was looted and police cars were burned.“We sent a quick reaction unit to assist the policemen defending the station, but they were overwhelmed by al-Sadr fighters,” said Najaf Gov. Adnan al-Zurufi. “We will solve this problem as soon as possible. We will ask for the help of the Americans, if necessary.”
Hours later, al-Sadr’s forces withdrew and disappeared. Rioters looted the cars that had been attacked outside the station.
Fighting ebbed Thursday around the main police station, which came under fire Wednesday night, when the attacks began.
How could this be possible? As Sadr’s army was defeated.
“The Moqtada militia is militarily defeated. We have killed scores of them over the last few weeks, and that is in Najaf alone,” said Brigadier General Mark Hertling, one of the top US commanders in charge of Najaf.
“Over the past several days, Moqtada’s militia has lost much of their stomach for fighting,” he said, also declaring victory in the central cities of Kut, Diwaniyah and Karbala, dogged by fighting over the past two months.
“We have also destroyed their weapons stores and their offensive capability,” he said.
“What remains of them, which is a very small force, will take advantage of the governor’s announcement to disperse if not disband.”
Looks like Brigadier General Mark Hertling, continuing the established tradition for Americans in Iraq, was wrong.