BAGHDAD, June 10 (UPI) -- Fighting between Shiite militiamen led by radical cleric Moqtada Sadr and Iraqi police tapered off in central Iraq Thursday 10 hours after they erupted.
Witnesses in the holy center of Najaf said the city's governor and tribal and religious leaders were trying to contain the clashes which broke out late Wednesday when members of Sadr's al-Mehdi Army attacked a police station in response to the arrests of wanted militiamen.
Witnesses said the fighting was limited to the city center and the old cemetery in the vicinity of Imam Ali mausoleum, the Shiites' holiest shrine.
The clashes were the first since a truce agreement between Sadr and U.S. forces was reached under which security control was to be taken up by Iraqi police, and Shiite gunmen from outside the city were to pull out.
At least one policeman was killed and 15 others were injured in the clashes. There were no reports of casualties among the gunmen.
