KNOWING YOUR ALLIES:

Iraqi spiritual leader urges armed groups to leave holy cities (AP, 5/19/04)

Iraq's most respected Shiite cleric urged both U.S. soldiers and a radical cleric's militia Tuesday to withdraw from two Shiite holy cities where fighting has raged near some of Shia Islam's holiest shrines.

A statement released in Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani's name urged Iraqis not to travel to Najaf to join protests called by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Instead, he said, Shiites should join rallies elsewhere to demand that Najaf and Karbala "be rid of all armed manifestations."

However, the statement, which al-Sistani's aides distributed to reporters after nighttime skirmishes in Najaf, did not include the ayatollah's personal seal nor was it posted on his Web site, as is customary with religious decrees, or fatwas, which are binding on his followers.

An aide to al-Sistani, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ayatollah wants both the Americans and al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army out of the holy cities in southern Iraq but has avoided an explicit call because he knows neither side is prepared to accept it.