There are new doubts about the US and Iraqi claim that the hundreds of people killed in a battle in Najaf over the weekend were members of a messianic cult. Reports indicate the official story might actually be a cover-up for a massacre. We speak with London Independent correspondent Patrick Cockburn and Dr. Amer Majeed, a doctor who treated the wounded. [includes rush transcript]

There are new doubts about the US and Iraqi claim that the hundreds of people killed in a battle in Najaf over the weekend were members of a messianic cult. Journalist Patrick Cockburn of the London Independent reports the official story might actually be a cover-up for a massacre.

• Patrick Cockburn. Journalist with the London Independent and author of the new book, The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq. He joins us on the phone from Amman, Jordan where he has just arrived from Baghdad.
• Dr. Amer Majeed. He is an Iraqi doctor at Al Sadr hospital in Najaf. He has treated some of the injured from the battle in Najaf. He is being translated by his cousin, Sami Rasouli.