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8 A
Friday, April 16, 2004
THE BAT1
Iranian diplomat assassinateL i
in Iraq amid mediation missioi
By Abdul Hussein Yousef
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Envoy sent to resolve Najaf standoff
NAJAF, Iraq — Gunmen
assassinated an Iranian diplomat
in Baghdad on Thursday just as
Iran, with tacit U.S. approval,
attempted to mediate with a rad
ical Shiite cleric defying
American forces in this southern
Iraqi city.
The slaying of diplomat
Khalil Naimi, shot in the head
by unknown gunmen while he
drove near his embassy, cast a
shadow over Thursday’s unusual
negotiating mission to Najaf by
the envoy from neighboring
Iran, which fought an eight-year
war with Iraq in the 1980s and
does not have diplomatic rela
tions with Washington.
Iranian Embassy officials
were investigating whether there
was a link between the assassi
nation and the envoy’s visit.
Naimi was not a member of the
Iranian negotiating team.
State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher said "it’s
probably premature to draw any
conclusions about whether it
reflects anything about the role
that Iran has played one way or
the other in Iraq."
The Iranian effort to mediate
with anti-American cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr was arranged
by Britain and appeared to have
the approval of the United
States, reflecting an eagerness to
find a solution that would avert a
An Iranian envoy headed to Najaf on
Thursday to try to resolve the U.S.
standoff with radical Shiite /
cleric Muqtada al-
Sadr. Iraqi militants, .
meanwhile,
executed an Italian
security guard, one
of four taken
hostage Monday.
SYRIA
JORDAN l
Marines and U.S.
warplanes struck
insurgents
Militiamen moved
onto rooftops and into
buildings; U.S. troops
remain on the
outskirts ready to
move against al-Sadr
SOURCE: Associated Press
U.S. assaull on Najaf — the
holiest Shiite city — aimed at
capturing al-Sadr.
But it was not clear whether
al-Sadr would agree to meet w ith
Iranian envoy Hossein Sadeghi.
Al-Sadr was accepting medi
ation only by an Iraqi political
party picked by Iraq’s top cler
ics, said al-Sadr aide Sheik Qays
al-Khaz'ali.
Shiite Governing Council
member Ibrahim al-Jaafari said he
saw "flexibility from al-Sadr’s
side” and called on the Americans
to show "similar flexibility."
Iraq’s top U.S. administrator.
L. Paul Bremer, was involv
"multiple channels" toi
negotiate an end tothesu
in the south and in theo
city of Fallujah, said.
Richard B. Myers, chain:
the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Myers warned therein
to how long the Marinesce
off a resumption of
operations in Fallujah. "As
point somebody has to a
decision on w hat we’re &
do, and we certainly ca
out the use of force thete
he told a news conference
in. Kcr
mferei
r exc©
NEWS IN BRIEF
Bush's endorsement gives
Sharon boost in support
JERUSALEM (AP) — President Bush's strong
endorsement of Israel’s “disengagement plan”
lifted support Thursday for Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon but left angry Palestinian leaders scram
bling to galvanize international opposition to the
U.S. stance.
At a White House meeting with the Israeli
leader Wednesday, Bush expressed support for
Sharon's plan to withdraw from all of Ga^
a handful of West Bank settlements.
While voicing support for an in
Palestinian state, Bush also gave unprec&J
ed U.S. backing for Israel to hold on t
settlement blocs in the West Bank. He atom
out allowing Palestinian refugees to retu
Israel after a Palestinian state is created
Those concessions enraged the Pales!
who want an independent state in all of M
Bank and Gaza, which Israel captured in]
1967 Mideast war.
THE
Do yoi\ IF
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writers, photographers and graphics artists
Start work this summer or fall!
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ovider
|on law
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mute
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Continuous hiring for staff positions
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in 014 Reed McDonald
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The Battalion
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