The Coalition Provisional Authority “arrested Sheikh Mustafa al-Yaqoubi, an influential acolyte of [theologian and political leader] Moqtada [al-Sadr], on 3 April [2004], on charges of complicity in [Shia cleric Abdul Majid al-] Khoei’s murder. On the following day, demonstrators from Najaf converged on the nearby Spanish security base and in the confused situation that followed a major fire fight broke out. Nearly 22 Iraqis were killed and over 200 wounded. In response to the fighting, [Director of Reconstruction in Iraq L. Paul] Bremer said, ‘This morning, a group of people in Najaf have crossed the line and they have moved to violence… This will not be tolerated by the Iraqi people and this will not be tolerated by the Iraqi security forces.’ ”
– Ali A. Allawi, The Occupation of Iraq, Page 270