U.S. Forces Surround Office of Iraq Shi'ite Cleric
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KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. troops on Saturday sealed off roads around the office and house of an Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim cleric whose followers the U.S. military has blamed for starting a shootout which killed three American soldiers.
Soldiers surrounded the buildings in Iraq (news - web sites)'s holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala used by local cleric Sayyid Mahmoud al-Hassani with armored vehicles and helicopters circled overhead.
Three U.S. military police and two Iraqi police were killed on Thursday night in fighting in the city. The U.S. military said the shootout was started by supporters of Hassani, himself a sympathizer of radical Shi'ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr who opposes the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
U.S. officers would not comment on whether they were hoping to arrest Hassani. His supporters said he had left his home after Thursday's shooting in which local people said eight of his followers had been killed.
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