American soldiers look at Shiite faithful heading towards the Imam Ali shrine in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf Friday Aug. 27, 2004.
A Mahdi soldier looks at Shiite faithful as they march through the streets to the Imam Ali shrine, one of Shia Islam's holiest, which has served as a base for al-Sadr's fighters and been at the center of much of the three-week crisis in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf Friday Aug. 27, 2004.
An Iraqi medic carries a wounded child after a mortar attack on the main mosque in the Iraqi city of Kufa, at the hospital in Kufa, Iraq, Aug. 26, 2004.
Flames and a large plume of smoke rise after an attack on an oil pipeline in al-Barjisiya, 18 miles southwest of Basra, Iraq, Aug. 26, 2004. Oil officials said saboteurs attacked multiple pipelines in southern Iraq.
Iraqis Shiites hit themselves on the chest as others hoist pictures of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and chant slogans in favour of Shiite religious leaders, after a mortar barrage hit the main mosque in the Iraqi city of Kufa, Iraq, Aug. 26, 2004.
An Iraqi girl looks out from her home as an Iraqi National Guard carrying a rocket propelled grenade launcher takes his position near the area of the Imam Ali Shrine in the besieged southern Iraqi city of Najaf, Aug. 25, 2004.
A U.S. Army soldier is illuminated by his own gunfire during an evening gunbattle with insurgents in Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 25, 2004.
Iraqi civilians flee the area of fighting with some of their belongings in the besieged city of Najaf, southern Iraq, Aug. 24, 2004. U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militants in Najaf Aug. 24, and Iraqi National Guardsmen advanced closer to the holy city's Imam Ali Shrine compound as Iraq's defense minister demanded the insurgents inside surrender.
This is a satellite image made on June 17, 2004, provided by the DigitalGlobe company, showing the Imam Ali Shrine, center, and the surrounding Old City in Najaf, Iraq. The cemetery is seen at the top of the frame, north of the Old City.
Iraqi National Guardsmen near the area of the Ali Imam shrine in the besieged city of Najaf, southern Iraq, Aug. 24, 2004.
Iraqi shop owners collect goods from their store after a mortar attack hit the area near their shopping complex in the Al-Mansour district in central Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 25, 2004. There were no casualties reported.
U.S. Army Bradley fighting vehicles patrol in central Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 24, 2004, a few hundred yards from the Shrine of Imam Ali.
Masked Shiite militiamen armed with rocket launchers and automatic weapons poured through the streets, setting up roadblocks to protest U.S. military action in Najaf, in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, Aug. 24, 2004.
A U.S. Army sniper takes a position behind a wall in central Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 24, 2004, a few hundred yards from the Shrine of Imam Ali.
An aerial bomb descends toward a target in Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 23, 2004, after two bombs were dropped from high altitudes by U.S. aircraft.
Smoke rises over insurgent targets in Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 23, 2004, after two bombs were dropped from high altitudes by U.S. aircraft.
Hadi Mahmoud cries after having lost his mother when their vehicle was caught in the crossfire during clashes between an army loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr and U.S. and Iraqi forces in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr city, Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 23, 2004. Mahmoud Ghalib, Hadi's father, was also wounded in the incident.
A U.S. Army Bradley fighting vehicle patrols near the ancient cemetery in Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 23, 2004.
U.S. Army soldiers aim through the window of an abandoned hotel in Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 23, 2004.
An Iraqi civilian stands close to a car destroyed during fighting between Mahdi fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr and U.S. and Iraqi forces in the besieged city of Najaf, Aug. 23, 2004.