Residents of Najaf's Old City picked through the ruins of homes and businesses on 28 August 2004, returning for the first time in days after weeks of combat between US forces and the Mehdi Army militia loyal to cleric Moqtada Sadr. Within a half-mile radius of the Imam Ali shrine, much of the surrounding neighborhood had been reduced to rubble.
Anger among residents was directed overwhelmingly at the Mehdi Army rather than at coalition forces. Many viewed the militia as outsiders, largely from the Baghdad district of Sadr City, whose presence had brought destruction to a community they barely represented.
Shopkeepers and homeowners described losses they had no means to repair. A baker on Medina Street said he could not afford to rebuild and doubted the government compensation that had been promised would ever arrive. A hotel owner nearby noted his business had been closed since April and estimated commerce would not recover for one to two years.
The standoff ended Thursday when thousands of Shiite pilgrims marched through combat lines near the shrine, breaking the siege. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani mediated the resolution, which Sadr's followers claimed as a victory over the Americans while Najaf's residents tallied what it had cost them.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in August 2004, in its own words.