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NEWS ABOUT: Muqtada al-Sadr

Sadr Threatens to End Truce

Mahdi Army leader, 'worried' for Iraqis' safety, cancels anti-US protest

(Newser) - Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr today threatened to end the cease-fire he imposed last year on his Mahdi militia, CNN reports, and called off a massive protest set for tomorrow, the fifth anniversary of the end of Saddam Hussein’s rule. Hundreds had converged on Baghdad—despite orders to keep young... More »

Split Deepens Between Iraqi Shiites

Intra-sect feuds reign between Sadr loyalists and government bodies

(Newser) - As violence between Sunni and Shiites has subsided in Iraq, animosity between Shiite sects is mounting, with a death toll to match, the Washington Post reports. The government's offensive last week against Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia in Basra exposed the grim reality of a widening political gulf. “... More »

Iraqi PM: No Elections for Militias

Mahdi Army must disband, Maliki says, or lose political power

(Newser) - Muqtada al-Sadr and his loyalists will be banned from upcoming elections if the Mahdi Army doesn't disband, Nouri al-Maliki said today, in his toughest rhetoric yet against the popular cleric. Sadrists say the Iraqi PM has no constitutional power to make that threat, but even if lawmakers succeed in banning... More »

Baghdad Rockets Kill 3 US Soldiers, Wound 31

Another killed in roadside bombing; death count now 4,022

(Newser) - Battles erupted in Baghdad today as rocket attacks killed three US soldiers and wounded 31, CNN reports. The first strike killed one and wounded 14 at a military outpost; “a couple of rounds of fire” killed two more and wounded 17 in the Green Zone soon after, a military... More »

Basra Showed Maliki Weakness, al-Sadr Strength

Nouri al-Maliki is now saying the assault wasn't political

(Newser) - The Iraqi-led assault on Basra last week exposed the weaknesses of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the strength of Moqtada al-Sadr, the Washington Post concludes in its post-mortem of the unsuccessful foray. In not engaging parliament, political allies, or the Americans in planning the incursion, Maliki sought to demonstrate decisiveness,... More »

Iraqi PM Flips, Calls Off Raids on Militias

Maliki extends olive branch to Sadr after Basra battle

(Newser) - Nouri al Maliki reversed course today, ordering a stop to raids against suspected Mahdi Army militants. The move is an apparent olive branch to Shiite rival Muqtada al Sadr, who had complained that raids against his militia fighters were continuing, even after he’d ordered them off the streets. Just... More »

Iraqi Assault on Basra Was 'Thrown Together'

Americans taken aback by Maliki's hasty, improvised raid

(Newser) - American officials were expecting a gradual, methodical operation when Nouri al-Maliki moved Iraqi troops into Basra to restore order in the city. What they witnessed instead was a rush job: an Iraqi raid that had little forethought and began even before the last of the soldiers had arrived. "He... More »

Iran Played Key Role in al-Sadr Ceasefire

Iraqi lawmakers met cleric in Iran before deal was struck

(Newser) - Iran played a key role in convincing Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to call a ceasefire in Basra yesterday, CNN reports. Iraqi lawmakers from five Shiite parties traveled to Iran on Friday to meet with al-Sadr, and returned yesterday, right before al-Sadr's injunction to halt violence in Basra, an Iraqi official... More »

Baghdad Curfew Lifted; Basra Violence Slows

Move comes a day after Sadr ordered militants to stand down

(Newser) - Baghdad authorities lifted a 3-day-old curfew today as violence ebbed and soldiers from Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army began to heed his call yesterday to stand down, reports the AFP. The southern city of Basra also eased its curfew as 6 days of violent clashes wound down, although the BBC reported... More »

Al-Sadr Orders His Militia Off Streets of Basra

He offers weakened Maliki a truce deal as violence continues

(Newser) - Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters to leave the streets of Basra and other cities, reports the BBC, in an effort to end clashes with security forces. “Anyone carrying a weapon and targeting government institutions will not be one of us,” Sadr said, but minutes after... More »

Brits Join the Fight in Basra

US widens its airstrikes, and Sadr tells followers to keep their weapons

(Newser) - As the Iraqi army struggles to combat militias in Basra, British troops for the first time directly joined the fight, and American forces expanded their bombing beyond the militia stronghold. The Brits, who had previously provided only logistical and air support to the Iraqis, fired on an insurgent mortar team... More »

US Joins Basra Battle; Maliki Extends Deadline

Maliki extends deadline as fighting continues

(Newser) - Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki today gave Shia militants in Basra 10 more days to turn over their weapons, as fighting continued in Iraq’s third largest city. The US, meanwhile, made its first moves in the fight, bombing Mahdi Army positions, the BBC reports. Muqtada al Sadr, the radical... More »

Iraqi Lawmakers to Meet as Violence Escalates

Baghdad under curfew as militants in Basra hold their ground

(Newser) - Iraqi lawmakers will hold an emergency session in Baghdad tomorrow to try to find a way to resolve the escalating violence in Basra and the capital, Reuters reports. Baghdad, its Green Zone rocked by steady rocket and mortar fire, is now under a three-day curfew, and the State Department ordered... More »

Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive

President scolds Congress' calls for withdrawal

(Newser) - President Bush praised the government of Iraq today for the offensive launched three days ago against militias in Basra, painting it as a sign of progress toward the goals of the US war, the AP reports. Bush also criticized Congress for calling for troop withdrawals so the military’s attention... More »

Sadrists Resist Crackdown, Demand Maliki's Ouster

Intra-Shiite battle pounds on in Basra

(Newser) - Followers of Muqtada al-Sadr marched in Baghdad today, denouncing Nouri al-Maliki's US-backed government as non-representative, while the onslaught in Basra continued for a third day. Explosions were heard in the city every 10 to 15 minutes and more than 100 are already dead, Reuters reports. Residents of Iraq's second-largest city,... More »

Iraq PM Threatens Sadrists as Basra Explodes

'Moment of truth' as government battles Shiite militias

(Newser) - As Iraqi government forces battle Shia militants for a second day in Basra, the Iraqi prime minister has issued a 72-hour deadline for insurgents to lay down their arms. In a television broadcast, Nouri al-Maliki warned militants, many of them loyal to the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, to stand down... More »

Iraqi Forces Battle Mahdi Army in Basra

Sadr promises 'civil revolt'

(Newser) - Iraqi security forces fought pitched gun battles through the streets of Basra today, trying to wrest control of the oil-rich city from Mahdi Army militants. An enraged Muqtada al Sadr promised a “civil revolt” if the attacks on his faction didn’t stop and ordered police cleared from the... More »

US Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000

Latest roadside bombing kills 4 American servicemen

(Newser) - A roadside bomb yesterday killed 4 US servicemen, hiking the American death toll in the Iraq war to at least 4,000, AP reports. Another soldier was wounded in the blast, which came less than a week after the fifth anniversary of the war. At least 61 other people died... More »

British Hostage Appears on Arab Television

One of 5 missing since May asks for prisoner exchange

(Newser) - One of the five British men kidnapped in Baghdad eight months ago appeared on Arab television last night, begging Prime Minister Gordon Brown to free nine Iraqi prisoners in exchange for the Britons. “Release their people so that we can go home. It’s as simple as that,"... More »

Attacks on Shiite Pilgrims Jeopardize Sadr Ceasefire

Bombings continue with wheelchair attack

(Newser) - A wave of violence against Shiite pilgrims continued today, with at least seven dying in a pair of roadside bombings, and nerves fraying over an unpopular ceasefire. Shiites are observing one of their most sacred holidays despite a spate of attacks—today's plus at least three yesterday—that are straining... More »

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