Shooting escalates outside Najaf mosque

Najaf, Iraq — There was a marked escalation in weapons fire around the Najaf mosque Thursday, where militant cleric Moqtada Sadr and followers are holed up.

A CNN reporter inside the compound said there was persistent mortar and gunfire ringing the facility, one of the holiest sites for Shiite Muslims.

The news came just hours after the Iraqi government gave Sadr an ultimatum to disband his al-Mehdi Army or face a military offensive. However, it wasn’t clear if the sudden escalation of violence was a result of the threat.

The government warning made by Iraqi State Minister Kassem Daoud and Najaf Governor Adnan al-Zarfi, also told Sadr to issue a written commitment renouncing violence.

Several blocks from the mosque, at least seven police were killed and more than 20 wounded in a mortar attack against a police station, the BBC reported.

In Baghdad, fighting raged overnight in a Shiite slum between U.S. forces and Sadr’s followers.

Security sources said as many as 50 gunmen from Sadr’s al-Mehdi Army were killed in the battles that engulfed Sadr City, a densely populated slum and home to an estimated 2 million Shiites. (UPI)

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