Sporadic Fighting Reported in Karbala

NPR | By Eric Westervelt,

Published May 8, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

Sporadic fighting continues between U.S. forces and insurgents loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Karbala. In southern cities of Basra and Amarah, British troops took fire from other al-Sadr loyalists after a close aide to the cleric offered rewards for the capture or killing of British soldiers. Hear NPR's Scott Simon and NPR's Eric Westervelt.

Eric Westervelt

Eric Westervelt is a San Francisco-based correspondent for NPR's National Desk. He has reported on major events for the network from wars and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa to historic wildfires and terrorist attacks in the U.S.

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Scott Simon

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.

See stories by Scott Simon