US patrols continue outside Najaf, arrests
(21 Apr 2004) 1. Spanish army convoy driving through the city of Najaf 2. Various shots of US and Spanish soldiers with their guns pointing towards the street 3. Spanish armoured combat vehicle parked at Spanish base outside Najaf 4. US 3rd Brigade task force commander Colonel Dana Pittard meeting Spanish officers 5. US officers going into Coalition Provisional Authority headquarters 6. Sign: CPA headquarters 7. Colonel Pittard meeting Phil Kosnett, chief representative in Najaf province for CPA 8. Various interiors of CPA headquarters 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Phil Kosnett, CPA Chief Representative in Najaf province: "If you watch the movies you would think that life as a diplomat is all cocktail parties and receptions but that is not what it is about, it is part of our job to risk our lives like this." 10. US officer on top of roof of building overlooking city 11. Views of Najaf from rooftop 12. US officers making notes on map 13. Spanish armoured vehicles at base compound 14. Exteriors of CPA headquarters 15. Group of US officers 16. SOUNDBITE (English) Colonel Dana Pittard, US 3rd Brigade task force commander: "We just have to see each other face to face. We saw each other two days ago for the first rehearsal and I just wanted to to make sure we are online." 17. Convoy returning to the forward operation base hotel north of Najaf 18. Various of men with bags on their heads (These are five people suspected to be Sadr sympathisers detained during patrols on Saturday) 19. Detainees being driven away STORYLINE The head of the US 3rd Brigade Task Force that has gathered outside Najaf on Saturday travelled to a coalition base that is frequently attacked by militants loyal to the radical Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr. Colonel Dana Pittard met the Salvadoran soldiers who defend the base and held talks with Phil Kosnett, the CPA chief representative in Najaf province, who said the situation in Najaf remained dangerous. "If you watch the movies, you would think that life as a diplomat is all cocktail parties and receptions. That is not what it is about," Kosnett said. Some two and a half thousand US troops deployed this week to the outskirts of Najaf on a mission to kill or capture al-Sadr. US commanders have said they have no plans for the time being to go into Najaf, the holiest Shiite city, where al-Sadr is located in his office. The US forces appear to be holding back their firepower to allow moderate clerics to bring pressure against al-Sadr, avoiding an assault on Najaf. A top al-Sadr aide, Jabir al-Khafaji, said mediations by Iraqi politicians had ended because of US conditions that the cleric's al-Mahdi Army militia be disbanded. Militiamen attacked two US Humvees outside Najaf on Saturday, sparking a battle, witnesses said. Al-Sadr loyalists also fired mortars at the Spanish army base, but there were no casualties. A coalition soldier - apparently a member of the Spanish-led force in the city - was killed the night before in fighting with the militia, the US military said. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
