US pulls back Najaf forces

Last updated at 08:09 19 April 2004


The US army is to reduce its forces around Iraq's holy city of Najaf, in a bid to resolve the standoff peacefully.

The US amassed forces around the city as they planned to kill or capture rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who is holed up in Najaf, and destroy his Mehdi Army militia.

However negotiations are now under way through intermediaries to find a peaceful solution after Iraqi clerics warned that if US troops moved into the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf it could spark fury and cause a fresh eruption of unrest.

The news comes as the new Spanish government has announced its plans to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Colonel Dana Pittard, commander of the 2,500-strong 3rd Brigade Task Force outside Najaf, said the force would be withdrawn over coming days and would be replaced by about 2,000 soldiers from the 1st Armoured Division.

"Because of where negotiations are right now, we can wait," the Colonel said. "We still want Iraqis to solve the problem."

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