One of Ours

...After hours of debate on Sunday, commanders called in an AC-130 gunship, which began pounding at insurgent positions with 40-millimeter cannon fire around 12:30 a.m. Monday. An American officer at the scene said the insurgents had clustered on a street corner about 160 feet from the golden-domed Shrine of Hussein, dedicated to the martyred grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

As many as 16 insurgents were killed in the airstrike and at least five were wounded, said Maj. Mark Grabski, executive officer of the First Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment of the First Armored Division. Thirteen other insurgents were killed in battles in the area...

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...there have been signs that top Shiites have grown weary of Mr. Sadr. There has been little outrage from residents, even after American troops began using the mosque here as a base.

Mr. Sadr and his armed supporters have used holy sites as shields during a six-week uprising against the occupation forces. Shortly after he ignited the revolt, Mr. Sadr barricaded himself in the nearby city of Najaf and posted members of his militia, the Mahdi Army, around the Shrine of Ali...

[...]

On Sunday afternoon, insurgents with checkered scarves covering their faces and carrying AK-47 assault rifles, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers wandered around the shrine area. A freelance photographer for The New York Times reported seeing many armed men along a road surrounding the Shrine of Hussein. The men had at least a dozen rocket-propelled grenades, and some wore bulletproof vests.

Near one corner, fighters sat in a circle around a small fire brewing tea. Gunfire could be heard nearby. Several men leaned their AK-47's against a wall and prayed, kneeling.

At one point, a group of about 10 men reloaded their weapons and peered around the corner to where they had set up a heavy machine gun 50 yards away on a median in the road. Insurgents fired the gun every minute or so in long bursts.

There were about 70 fighters on that corner of the shrine. They looked relaxed, joking and laughing. They seemed confident that the Americans would not attack them if they stayed in the shrine area...