IRAQ: Iraq's top Shia cleric made a sudden return to the country yesterday and said he had a plan to end an uprising in the "burning city" of Najaf, where fighting is creeping ever closer to its holiest shrine.
Aides to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said the cleric, the most powerful voice of moderation in the tormented country, would unveil an initiative to get Shia rebels out of the revered Imam Ali mosque. They gave no details.
Ayatollah Sistani also called for Iraqis to march on Najaf to save it, a move that could escalate passions among the majority Shias.
Dressed in a black robe and turban, with a flowing white beard and dark rings under his eyes, the reclusive cleric arrived in the southern city of Basra from Kuwait, having undergone heart treatment in London. He plans to travel to Najaf, his adopted home, today.
His return came as US and Iraqi forces tightened their grip around Mehdi Army militants loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr holding out in the mosque, advancing to within 300 metres of the rebel-held shrine.
A US AC-130 gunship strafed positions near the shrine last evening, the latest in a series of air attacks.
"We ask all believers to volunteer to go with us to Najaf," Ayatollah Sistani said in a statement read out by his aide: "I have come for the sake of Najaf and I will stay in Najaf until the crisis ends."
His aides said he would leave for Najaf this morning. They urged US forces encircling the gold-domed mosque to withdraw.
Ayatollah Sistani (73) reached Basra in a convoy of more than a dozen vehicles led by police cars with sirens wailing.
His hospitalisation in London three weeks ago coincided with the start of the revolt by Mr Sadr, a young cleric who has challenged the leadership of the Najaf clergy headed by Ayatollah Sistani.
The call to march could be an attempt by the reclusive Iranian-born cleric to reclaim some of the political ground captured during the uprising by Mr Sadr, who has painted himself as the face of anti-US resistance and icon to the poor masses.
Mr Sadr has also called for his followers to march on Najaf, sparking fears that the influx of thousands of rival Shias into the tense city could ignite renewed violence.
In the heart of Najaf's old city, US tanks fired shells and troops advanced closer to the mosque, as helicopters strafed militia targets.
Asked if the US military would suspend operations following Ayatollah Sistani's return, Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic said the Iraqi government would decide the course of action.
Iraqi Defence Minister Hazim al-Shalaan had warned the Mehdi fighters they would be wiped out unless they left the mosque by Tuesday evening.
Some 500 Iraqi troops have been deployed around the shrine.
Police also arrested senior Sadr aide Ali Smeisim in Najaf, and said they had captured a number of Sadr supporters who had stolen sacred items from the mosque. Sadr's aides denied the accusation, saying it was part of a smear campaign.
Al Jazeera television said militants had seized two relatives of Mr Shalaan, and demanded that US forces leave Najaf and police release Mr Smeisim.
It showed footage of the two men kneeling in front of masked militants, but no audio could be heard.