NPR News

Najaf Battle Back On; Mortars Hit Baghdad

By Liane Hansen

Published August 15, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

Fighting resumes in Najaf after a collapse in truce talks between Iraqi officials and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Mortar shells hit Baghdad near where delegates are meeting to choose a national assembly. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and John Burns of The New York Times.

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Liane Hansen

Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.