BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military has moved "significant" forces to the holy Iraqi city of Najaf in preparation for a possible offensive to retake the city from Shi'ite militants and capture or kill their leader. (Looks like an offensive is in the works. ed. )

About 10 Bulgarian soldiers based in the flashpoint city of Kerbala in southern Iraq have asked if they can go home, officials said on Tuesday, the latest example of the troops' unhappiness with conditions in Iraq.

Annan expresses doubt about U.N. return to Iraq.

Six soldiers reported killed yesterday.

Hesiod comments on Kerry's remarks vis-a-vis Iraq. I agree.

Marines seeking to rescue pilots from a downed helicopter have come under intense fire, al Jezeera reports.

Foreign nationals are being urged to flee Iraq as governments and private companies react to growing insecurity and a wave of kidnappings.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi on April 12 dismissed as "baseless and untrue" reports that Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is seeking asylum in Iran.

A delegation from Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani's office including his son, Seyed Mohammed Reza Sistani, met with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's representatives in An Najaf on April 12 to resolve the crisis in Iraq. Among the delegation's proposals approved by al-Sadr is the power to appoint representatives from each source of jurisprudence to deal with crisis resolution, providing they are not members of the Iraqi Governing Council. Others include the guarantee that al-Sadr would not be arrested and the agreement to strongly oppose the positioning of occupation troops in An Najaf, an anonymous source told Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

U.S. troops arrest representative of anti-American cleric in Baghdad

U.S. troops deploy outside Najaf; helicopter down near Fallujah

4 Italian Civilians Said Missing in Iraq

Russian firm evacuates 370

Russian and Ukrainian hostages freed in Baghdad