A plume of smoke is seen rising from an explosion on the skyline over Najaf's vast cemetery, seen from a position secured by the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry in southern Iraq Sunday, Aug. 15, 2004.
Spc. Chuck Ayars, from Nashville, Tenn., with the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas, runs into a building during a cordon and search in a neighborhood outside of Sadr City in Baghdad Sunday, Aug. 15, 2004.
Mahdi army militia supporting radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stand at the entrance of Sadr City, Iraq, next to a large portrait showing a picture of the Imam Ali mosque with al-Sadr's father, Mohammed Baqir al Sadr, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2004.
Soldiers take positions in a building near Najaf's vast cemetery and the ancient Imam Ali mosque after it was secured by the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry in the holy city of Najaf, southern Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2004.
An Iraqi civilian looks at the debris left after U.S. war planes bombed the largely Sunni city of Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, after a series of clashes, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2004.
Supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who have set camp at the ancient Imam Ali mosque, a revered Shiite holy site, rest after the U.S. military suspended operations against al-Sadr's fighters in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf early Saturday, Aug. 14, 2004.
An American soldier moves a donkey away from an armored vehicle during a cease-fire held for negotiations with Muqtada al-Sadr in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 13, 2004. Iraqi officials and aides to a radical Shiite cleric were trying to negotiate an end to nine days of fighting in Najaf Friday after U.S. forces suspended an offensive against Muqtada al-Sadr's militia, officials said.
Thousands of Muqtada al-Sadr supporters gather to take part in noon prayers during a demonstration outside the Green Zone, the fortified enclave housing most Iraqi government ministries as well as the U.S. and British embassies, in central Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 13, 2004.
U.S. soldiers patrol the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, Friday Aug. 13, 2004. Thousands of U.S. troops sealed off Najaf's vast cemetery, its old city and a revered Shiite shrine and unleashed a tank, infantry and helicopter assault against militants loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr.
Shiite Muslims demonstrate against U.S. troop presence in Najaf and in support of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, seen in poster at rear, in Basra, southern Iraq, Aug. 12, 2004. Nearly 5,000 supporters of the radical cleric took to the streets in Basra, demanding that U.S. troops withdraw from Najaf and condemning Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's support of the Americans.
A follower of rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr holds the helmet of a U.S. soldier during clashes between al-Mahdi supporters and U.S. and Iraqi forces in the holy city of Najaf, southern Iraq, Aug. 10, 2004.
Followers of rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fight during clashes between al-Mahdi army with U.S. and Iraqi forces in the holy city of Najaf, southern Iraq Tuesday Aug. 10, 2004.
A U.S Army armored vehicle burns after it was hit by a rocket propelled grenade in the northeast Baghdad neighborhood of Baladiyat on Aug. 10, 2004. There were no immediate official reports of casualties.
A U.S. Army 1st Cavalry soldier questions a driver in eastern Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 9, 2004. The mission was to search for reported activities by Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militants in the area.
The Al Shaeba oil refinery on the outskirst of the southern port city of Basra, Aug. 9, 2004. Iraq stopped pumping oil from its key southern oil fields, Aug. 9, 2004, because of the violence plaguing the region during a renewed Shiite uprising, an official with the South Oil Company said.
A follower of rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr runs for cover during clashes with U.S. and Iraqi forces in the holy city of Najaf, southern Iraq, Aug. 9, 2004. During a news conference in his first public appearance since the new wave of fighting began, Sadr said he would not lay down arms or leave the city.
Medics tend to a wounded man injured in a car bomb blast in Balad Ruz, at the Baqouba hospital, northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 9, 2004. The blast killed at least seven police officers in an apparent attempt to assassinate a deputy governor.
Iraqi police stand guard next to a crater and a damaged vehicle left at the site of car bomb blast in Balad Ruz, Iraq, Aug. 9, 2004. The blast killed at least seven police officers in an apparent attempt to assassinate a deputy governor.
American soldiers stand guard next to the damaged vehicle left at the site of car bomb blast in Balad Ruz, Iraq, Aug. 9, 2004.
An Iraqi civilian speaks on his mobile phone, left, as followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr take to the streets in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, Aug. 9, 2004.