250 'militants' reported killed in battles near Najaf

Iraqi forces take up position in battle today, which was continuing into the night

NAJAF, Iraq, Jan 28 (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 250 gunmen from a Muslim cult in a battle involving U.S. tanks and helicopters near the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf on Sunday, Iraqi police, army and political sources said.

The day-long battle was continuing after nightfall, Colonel Ali Nomas told Reuters. A Reuters reporter on the scene saw several American tanks and other armoured vehicles arriving at the site of the battle, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad.

A U.S. helicopter was earlier shot down in the fighting, Iraq security sources said. The U.S. military declined comment. The Reuters reporter saw a helicopter come down trailing smoke.

An Iraqi army source said some of the dead wore headbands declaring themselves to be a "Soldier of Heaven".

The fighting began as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims converged on the other main Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala, 70 km (40 miles) to the north of Najaf, for the climax of the annual Shi'ite rite of Ashura.

Shi'ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni Arabs and Shi'ites loyal to Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni, whom they described as an apocalyptic cult leader convinced he leads the vanguard of the Mahdi -- a messiah-like figure in Islam whose coming heralds the start of perfect world justice.

There have been manifestations of a similar, violent Muslim cult in the past growing from both Sunni and Shi'ite communities, including in recent history.

It is not clear where these fighters were drawn from but their leader, according to Shi'ite political sources and Iraqi security sources, has been active in Najaf until recently.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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