Iraq resuming military operations in Najaf

Iraq's interim government said on Saturday it will resume military operations in the holy city of Najaf after peace talks with rebel Shiite militia came to a deadlock.

"The interim government is resuming military operations to maintain law and order in the holy city," Iraq's National Security Adviser Muwafaq al-Rubaie told a news conference in Najaf.

Rubaie, who heads the truce talks on behalf of the Iraqi government, said that he was going to leave the city but would return for any new talks.

The over week-long fighting between radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army militia and the US forces lulled Friday, allowing negotiations to end the over week-long military showdown in Najaf, 160 km south of Baghdad.

However, negotiations aimed at ending the clashes broke down Saturday. A Sadr spokesman blamed the collapse on Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

Source: Xinhua