Journalist dies as Najaf celebrates

A kidnapped Italian journalist has been murdered in Iraq.

Baldoni was seized on the road between Baghdad and Najaf on Saturday and on Tuesday his abductors gave the Italian government 48 hours to withdraw its 2,700 troops from the country.

After the deadline passed Arabic language television channel Al Jazeera showed footage of Mr Baldoni speaking before confirming they also had images of his corpse taken shortly afterwards.

"We can confirm it was him, unfortunat e ly," said a spokesman for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

His daughter, Gabriella Baldoni, confirmed he had been working as being a reporter for the Milan-based weekly, Diario, and had also volunteered to help the Red Cross in Iraq. "He was trying to save human lives in Najaf by helping a Red Cross convoy in a spirit of solidarity which has always underscored his actions," she said.

Mr Baldoni's death came as thousands of chanting Iraqi Shi'ites entered the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani brokered the peace deal to end fighting between insurgents and US forces which has left hundreds dead.

As the most senior of four clerics in Iraq holding the rank of grand ayatollah, al-Sistani, 75, is one of the most respected men in the country.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis responded to his call for a peace march.

Iraq's government said it had also agreed to the deal, under which rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi militia will leave the shrine and US forces will pull out of the city.

Najaf is to be declared a weapons-free zone and the government has said al-Sadr will not face arrest while his fighters will be offered an amnesty.

The fighting has helped drive world oil prices to record highs and undermined interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's authority.

Iraqi state minister Qassim Dawoud, announcing the administration's acceptance, said: "Brothers, we have entered the door to peace."

Al- Sistani's supporters walked past dozens of ruined buildings to reach the mosque just after dawn.

Armed with AK-47 assault rifles, teenage fighters loyal to al-Sadr spilled over the alleyways leading to the golddomed mosque. Some smiled and said to the visitors as they flowed in: "Welcome pilgrims to the shrine."

The peace deal came despite another day of bloodshed yesterday in which at least 15 of al-Sistani's supporters were shot dead in Najaf and 65 wounded after gunmen opened fire at police who were trying to control a crowd.