Iraq

U.S.-Shiite fighting continues in Karbala

KARBALA, Iraq - Heavy gunfire and huge explosions rumbled Thursday through this Shiite holy city as fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr refused to end their standoff with American forces, despite losing one of their main bases at a mosque.

Big blasts were heard late Thursday in another holy city, Najaf, where Sadr's militiamen also face American troops.

In central Iraq, roadside bombs killed a Marine in the Fallujah area. U.S. authorities also said a soldier and a Marine died Wednesday of wounds in Sunni Muslim-dominated areas.

WASHINGTON - A Republican congressman who is Roman Catholic said Thursday that the Vatican has no right to criticize the United States for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners because of the Catholic Church's history of abusing children and covering up its actions.

"If there's anyone in the world who has no right to speak on sexual abuse, it's the Vatican," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. "This is the height of hypocrisy."

In an interview published Wednesday in the Rome daily La Repubblica, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo said the scandal would fuel hatred for the West and for Christianity.

$25-BILLION SOUGHT: President Bush asked Congress to approve a new $25-billion "contingency fund" for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but members of both parties in Congress indicated strong reservations about giving the Pentagon the free hand it is seeking to spend the money.

WEB SITE CLOSED: The al-Qaida-linked Web site that first posted a video of American civilian Nicholas Berg's beheading was shut down by the Malaysian company that hosted it - because it was drawing too much traffic. A senior officer of the company, Acme Commerce Sdn. Bhd., said Thursday that it was not aware that the site may have been connected to al-Qaida or that offensive material had been posted on it. If it had, the company would likely have shut it down earlier, said Alfred Lim, Acme Commerce's business manager.

World and national headlines

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright