A U.S. commander said the American mission remained to "kill or capture" the Shiite leader, Muqtada al-Sadr. According to the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, "the mission of U.S. forces is to kill or capture Muqtada al-Sadr."
The son of Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani met with al-Sadr in his office Monday, telling him al-Sistani rejects any military move against al-Sadr and the holy city of Najaf, a person who attended the meeting said, according to The AP.
Meanwhile, several blasts rocked the area housing the U.S.-led occupation headquarters on Tuesday. A U.S. military official said it was not clear if the blasts were controlled explosions of old ordnance or an attack. There was no immediate word on casualties.
Meanwhile, a mortar bomb landed in a busy Baghdad street also Tuesday, killing one Iraqi driver and gouging a deep crater in the middle of the road, Reuters cited witnesses as saying. The street where the Iraqi was killed was around one kilometer away from the "Green Zone".
"I was driving my car and suddenly there was a big explosion behind me and shrapnel fell on my car," Mohammed al-Nimr told the news agency.
The driver of a vehicle behind him was struck by shrapnel, lost control of the car and smashed into a lamp-post. Police officials at the scene said the man was dead. Ambulances arrived to treat passers-by wounded by shrapnel and flying debris. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
