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NAJAF, Iraq (CNN) -- Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and other top Shiite religious figures were the apparent targets of a plot by a Muslim messianic cult intent on seizing the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraqi officials said.
The plot was thwarted by an intense battle that began early Sunday when Iraqi police and troops were dispatched to go after the insurgents, officials said.
U.S. forces took the lead Monday as the fighting wound down, an Iraqi police official said.
The cult believed its plan to seize the Shiite holy city and assassinate top Shiite clerics would bring about the coming of the Mehdi, a Muslim messiah, the official said.
Col. Ali Jraiwi said the insurgents detained after Sunday's fighting told Najaf police they are members of a group called "Soldiers of Heaven" and are a mix of Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Iraqi officials said the insurgents planned to seize control of Najaf and the surrounding province and kill top Shiite religious figures, including al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite leader. (Map)
Jraiwi said they also planned to attack the Imam Ali Shrine at the heart of the city and Shiite pilgrims observing the annual Ashura holy period.
An Iraqi military commander in charge of the Najaf area told The Associated Press that the leader of the group, whom he identified as Ahmed Hassan al-Yamani, was among those killed.
"This is an example of a promise kept," U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, deputy commanding general of the Multi-National Division-Baghdad and the 1st Cavalry Division, said in a written statement. "Everything worked just as it should have."
The Americans confirmed that more than 100 insurgents were captured in the daylong battle.
Sunday's fighting left at least 200 fighters dead, 120 detained and 60 wounded, Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said.
By Monday, the fighting was "90 percent over," with at least 1,000 Iraqi security forces involved in the mop-up operation, Jraiwi said.
Jraiwi said six Iraqi security force members were killed in Sunday's fighting, with another 30 Iraqis wounded.
In addition, two U.S. soldiers died when their helicopter went down near Najaf, apparently shot down by insurgents, Iraqi officials and a U.S. military official in Washington said.
An initial investigation indicates the AH-64 Apache was shot down by heavy machine-gun fire, a senior U.S. military official said.
The cause remains officially under investigation.
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The plot was thwarted by an intense battle that began early Sunday when Iraqi police and troops were dispatched to go after the insurgents, officials said.
U.S. forces took the lead Monday as the fighting wound down, an Iraqi police official said.
The cult believed its plan to seize the Shiite holy city and assassinate top Shiite clerics would bring about the coming of the Mehdi, a Muslim messiah, the official said.
Col. Ali Jraiwi said the insurgents detained after Sunday's fighting told Najaf police they are members of a group called "Soldiers of Heaven" and are a mix of Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Iraqi officials said the insurgents planned to seize control of Najaf and the surrounding province and kill top Shiite religious figures, including al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite leader. (Map)
Jraiwi said they also planned to attack the Imam Ali Shrine at the heart of the city and Shiite pilgrims observing the annual Ashura holy period.
An Iraqi military commander in charge of the Najaf area told The Associated Press that the leader of the group, whom he identified as Ahmed Hassan al-Yamani, was among those killed.
"This is an example of a promise kept," U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, deputy commanding general of the Multi-National Division-Baghdad and the 1st Cavalry Division, said in a written statement. "Everything worked just as it should have."
The Americans confirmed that more than 100 insurgents were captured in the daylong battle.
Sunday's fighting left at least 200 fighters dead, 120 detained and 60 wounded, Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said.
By Monday, the fighting was "90 percent over," with at least 1,000 Iraqi security forces involved in the mop-up operation, Jraiwi said.
Jraiwi said six Iraqi security force members were killed in Sunday's fighting, with another 30 Iraqis wounded.
In addition, two U.S. soldiers died when their helicopter went down near Najaf, apparently shot down by insurgents, Iraqi officials and a U.S. military official in Washington said.
An initial investigation indicates the AH-64 Apache was shot down by heavy machine-gun fire, a senior U.S. military official said.
The cause remains officially under investigation.
Link To Story
