At least 8 dead in clashes in Iraq city of Najaf

NAJAF, Iraq - At least eight people were killed and 35 injured after Spanish-led coalition troops and Iraqi police fired on protesters and clashed with militiamen near the city of Najaf on Sunday, hospital officials said.

A worker in Sada hospital in the town of Kufa, said eight bodies had been brought to the hospital and at least 35 people were wounded, some of them seriously. Kufa is the next town to Najaf and the site of a base for Spanish-led forces.

The shooting started after crowds of protesters, including members of the Mehdi Army, a banned militia that supports radical anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, marched on the Spanish garrison.

Witnesses said several protesters threw stones at military vehicles trying to enter the camp. Iraqi police and troops manning the perimeter of the base then opened fire with automatic weapons, witnesses said.

The protesters were demonstrating against the detention of a senior aide to Sadr, Mustapha Yacoubi, who they say was arrested by Spanish troops in Najaf on Friday. The Spanish deny they have detained him.

They are also angered by the closure a week ago of the militant al-Hawza newspaper, a mouthpiece for Sadr, which US authorities accuse of inciting anti-American violence.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq