Defending the Imam Ali Shrine

A crowd of unarmed volunteer human shields made up of Shi’ite Muslim followers of radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al Sadr, chant anti-government slogans in the courtyard of Imam Ali’s shrine in Najaf August 16, 2004. With his militants and human shields holed up inside one of Shi’ite Islam’s holiest shrines, radical cleric al-Sadr is playing a shrewd waiting game ahead of an expected American-led offensive. Photo by Chris Helgren/Reuters

“We will not leave the shrine until the Americans get out of Najaf. We will kill,” said Ugil Abdel Hussein, 32, a member of the Turkmen minority from the northern city of Kirkuk.
Hundreds of tribesmen met inside the shrine and vowed their support. One of them called on all of Iraq’s tribes to hold a national conference Wednesday to end the Najaf crisis.
“All Iraqi tribesmen are invited to try and end this bloodbath in Najaf,” said Sheikh Kassim Khafaji, addressing more than 100 tribesmen.
“These people are a deterrent to the Americans because they are civilians. They are here so that the Americans won’t attack the Imam Ali shrine,” said Sheikh Ahmed Shaibani, a senior Mehdi Army commander and top aide to Sadr.
“I will lie on the ground in front of the tanks, or I will kill the Americans to defend Sadr and Najaf,” said Fadil Hamed, 30, standing among a group of men who said they walked to Najaf from the southern city of Basra.