IRAQ, Najaf. August 26, 2004.
A civilian lies wounded on a street full of abandoned sandals as the shooting continues. Thousands of supporters of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani are converging on Najaf after calls from their leader to do so in an attempt to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis in Najaf where Mehdi Army militia forces loyal to radical cleric Shia Moqtada Sadr are beseiged in the holy shrine. More outbreaks of violence flared outside Najaf when Iraqi police opened fire on a group of Sistani's followers, killing 15. Witnesses reported that the Iraqi national guards opened fire, fearing attack, as supporters passed a military base on the road between Kufa and its twin city Najaf.