N.J. soldier dies in Najaf fight


New York Daily News
BY LEO STANDORA
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

An Armed Forces commander from New Jersey has been killed in the U.S. offensive against militants in the Iraqi city of Najaf.
Capt. Michael Yury Tarlavsky, 30, of Passaic, died in a hail of small-arms fire Thursday as he led Iraqi police trainees in a fight with militants who had blown up a school, authorities said yesterday.

Tarlavsky's mother, Rimma, said the family came to the U.S. from Israel when her son was only 5, "but no one loved this country more than Michael did. He was proud of America and he was was proud of his men." Being notified of her son's death "was like having your heart ripped out. I can't describe the pain," she said.

She said her daughter-in-law, Tricia, a former Army captain herself who married Michael just two years ago, was too distraught to talk. The couple have an 11-month-old son, and had just bought their own house.

"Michael E-mailed us earlier this week," the mother said through tears. "He asked about my health and said he was so sorry he wasn't here to see his little boy's first steps."

Tarlavsky, who graduated from Clifton High School and got his bachelor's degree from Rutgers, "did triathlons and marathons for fun."

She said his last marathon was in New York last year.

The proud soldier was just three weeks into his second tour in Iraq. He also fought in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, U.S. forces announced a halt to their offensive in Najaf against renegade cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army. Aides to al-Sadr said he was prepared to disarm his followers if Americans withdraw from the Shiite holy city and his fighters are granted amnesty.

The negotiations brought a halt to nine days of clashes, after al-Sadr's aides said he suffered minor shrapnel wounds to the face, chest and shoulder yesterday near the shrine of the Imam Ali Mosque, where many of his militants were hiding.

The U.S. military said it suspended offensive operations because of the talks. "We are allowed to engage the enemy only in self-defense and long enough to break contact," said U.S. Maj. Bob Pizzitola. "That was a blanket order for everybody."