An Najaf

Related Category: Iraq Political Geography

(än nä´jäf), city (1987 pop. 309,010), S central Iraq, on a lake near the Euphrates River. The city is also called Mashad Ali, after the tomb (in a mosque) of Ali, son-in-law of Muhammad the Prophet. The tomb is an object of pilgrimage by Shiite Muslims and a starting point for the pilgrimage to Mecca. The city was the center of fighting between U.S. forces and Shiite insurgents in 2004, and the Old City was heavily damaged.