U.S. forces kill members of Iraqi cleric's militia

AP ^ | 04/13/04 | AP

[Pikamax]

April 13, 2004

NAJAF, IRAQ (AP) -- U.S. forces have engaged in some action with supporters of a radical Shiite cleric on the outskirts of the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.

An American unit chased some of Muqtada al-Sadr's militiamen into the city and killed several of them.

Some 2,500 U.S. troops had massed outside the southern city, with commanders meeting Tuesday to go over battle plans. An American commander says the forces are "preparing for combat operations."

A delegation of Iraqi leaders has reportedly been trying to negotiate and avoid a U.S. assault on the city.

Al-Sadr has vowed to die rather than give in to an American occupation of Najaf.

And the U.S. military has said its goal is to either capture or kill him.

[johniegrad]

Al-Sadr has vowed to die rather than give in to an American occupation of Najaf.

He will have the glory of both death and occupation.

[metalcor]

Wanna bet he heads for the Iranian hills? A vow is a vow, but come on, you didn't take that literally?

[Billthedrill]

You just have to know how to interpret it. "I vow fight to the death" translates properly to "hold 'em off, fellers, while I vamoose. Have a happy martyrdom!"

[Cap Huff]

Bump.

[Steel Wolf]

Al-Sadr has vowed to die rather than give in to an American occupation of Najaf.

And the U.S. military has said its goal is to either capture or kill him.

This sounds like a game of chicken between a speeding freight train and a chicken.

[r9etb]

I'd love to know what sort of psyops are going on for this.

You know that with our guys sitting out there, and the outcome of the events in the last couple of weeks, the folks in Najaf know they're gonna lose badly -- perfect conditions for getting into their tiny brains....

[avg_freeper]

I imagine Al-Sadr is hurriedly barricading himself behind tied up bundles of five-year-olds, pregnant women, bottles of medicine, and fuzzy bunnies.

[TheDon]

"Al-Sadr has vowed to die rather than give in to an American occupation of Najaf. "

"And the U.S. military has said its goal is to either capture or kill him."

It's nice that both sides have a shared goal.

[freedom44]

We need to kill him.

During Ataturks reign in Turkey when hard-liners demonstrated he shot all of them and bulldozed their homes. Turkey is now a thriving Secular government.