Iraq's top Shiite cleric returns home as fighting rages in Najaf

NAJAF, Iraq — Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric returned from Britain on Wednesday and his aides called for a nationwide march to Najaf to end nearly three weeks of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and Shiite militants in this holy city.

In honor of Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani's arrival, militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said they would suspend fighting with coalition and Iraqi forces in every region al-Sistani passes through on his way to Najaf, said al-Sadr aide Aws al-Khafaji.

Heavy fighting persisted in Najaf's Old City, the center of much of the past three weeks of clashes. U.S. warplanes fired on the neighborhood, helicopters flew overhead and heavy gunfire was heard in the streets, witnesses said.

Meanwhile, militants said Wednesday they had kidnapped the brother-in-law of Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan and demanded he end all military operations in Najaf, according to a video, Al-Jazeera television reported.

In nearby Kufa, just northeast of Najaf, unidentified gunmen killed two people and wounded five others taking part in what appeared to be a peaceful demonstration supporting al-Sadr, said Mohammed Abdul Kadhim, an employee at Kufa's Furat al-Awsat Hospital.

Videotape from Associated Press Television News showed apparently unarmed demonstrators wounded during a few minutes of heavy gunfire, but it was not clear who was shooting. Witnesses said the gunfire appeared to come from an Iraqi National Guard post.

Witnesses said the marchers, numbering in the hundreds and carrying slogans in support of al-Sadr and pictures of both al-Sadr and al-Sistani, were headed to Kufa.

Earlier, Najaf Gov. Adnan al-Zurufi said Iraqi security forces had "taken all needed measures to prevent any crowds from entering the province," calling it a "military area."

In Kufa, Iraqi police sealed off the Old City, preventing cars from entering, and Najaf's police chief, Maj. Gen. Ghalib al-Jazaari, said al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia was on its last legs.

"The Mahdi Army is finished," he said. "Its hours are numbered."

Witnesses in the Old City said militants were still fighting in the streets, though the relentless American attacks in Najaf appeared to be weakening them.