Sadr City

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Wave of Bombings Kills 61 in Iraq

Shiites, Muqtada al-Sadr's office targeted

(Newser) - Bombs exploded throughout Baghdad today, targeting Shiite mosques and neighborhoods, including the office of anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. A neighborhood in Anbar province was also hit with six roadside bombs. At least 61 people have been killed and nearly 112 wounded, CNN reports.

Iraq Elections Revive Anti-US Sadr Party

Followers of radical cleric poised to challenge Maliki

(Newser) - As Iraq sorts out the messy results of last week's elections, an unexpected winner is coming to light: The populist party of anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr, long since given up for dead, suddenly emerged as the second largest Shiite block, and its strong performance is sure to shake up the...

7 Bombs Batter Baghdad; 95 Dead, 500 Wounded

(Newser) - Scores of people are dead after seven coordinated bombings rocked Baghdad this morning, targeting both government ministries and poor Shia neighborhoods, the New York Times  reports. Two huge bombs and three smaller blasts, probably from mortars, went off at the entrance to the fortified Green Zone, while other explosions hit...

Iraq Bombers Kill 41
 Iraq Bombers Kill 41 
Jul 9, 2009 6:50 AM CDT

Iraq Bombers Kill 41

70 injured as violent surge continues

(Newser) - Two suicide bombers killed at least 34 people and injured 70 in an attack on the home of an anti-terrorism officer in northern Iraq today, while three roadside bombs in Baghdad killed seven others, authorities said. The attacks continue a surge of violence in Iraq's troubled north following the withdrawal...

Iraq Protesters Burn US Flag During Biden Visit

Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr mock veep's reconciliation tour

(Newser) - Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to promote reconciliation among Iraqis was met today with protests by supporters of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Reuters reports. Demonstrators burned American flags and shouted anti-US slogans. Biden plans to meet with PM Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani to assess plans to heal the...

52 Dead in Baghdad Blast
 52 Dead in 
 Baghdad Blast 
Jun 24, 2009 1:38 PM CDT

52 Dead in Baghdad Blast

(Newser) - An explosion ripped through a market in Baghdad’s Sadr City today killing 52 and injuring 104, Reuters reports. Though Iraq has seen markedly less violence in the past year, today’s bombing is part of a wave of attacks ahead of the US military’s scheduled withdrawal from Iraqi...

Ashamed Families Behind Killings of Gay Iraqis

25 killed in past two months, say Sadr City locals

(Newser) - As security improves in Iraq, gay residents have embraced a new sense of freedom—and as a result, some 25 males thought to be homosexual have been murdered in Baghdad’s Sadr City in the past two months, the New York Times reports. The victims are usually found shot, sometimes...

6 Car Bombs Kill 34 in Baghdad
 6 Car Bombs Kill 34 in Baghdad 
Apr 6, 2009 7:03 AM CDT

6 Car Bombs Kill 34 in Baghdad

US records first combat death in weeks

(Newser) - Six car bombs exploded across Baghdad today, killing at least 34 and injuring scores more, Reuters reports. Four early blasts occurred within two hours, with the last two hitting within just minutes of each other. One of those, an attack on Sadr City, wounded 65 and killed at least 10,...

6 Iraqi Gays Slain Amid Religious Clampdown

(Newser) - Iraqi authorities have recovered the bodies of six gay men slain since sermons condemned homosexuality at prayer meetings in Sadr City, Reuters reports. "They were sexual deviants," said a Sadr City official. "Their tribes killed them to restore their family honor." Homosexuality is more common...

Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum
 Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum 
Nov 25, 2008 2:03 PM CST

Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum

Infrastructure remains sub-standard in much of Iraq

(Newser) - Residents of the Sadr City slum of Baghdad have come to accept raw sewage, bubbling to the surface from broken pipes, as a part of daily life, Bloomberg reports. And Sadr City is hardly an oddity—despite 6 years and billions of American dollars, much of Iraq still lacks reliable...

Militia Power Wanes as Iraqi Government Gains

Shiite Mahdi Army's extortion and violence alienate residents

(Newser) - The sway of a key Iraqi militia has declined significantly and it's losing control of its Baghdad strongholds to the government, the New York Times reports. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army once controlled politics and police in areas throughout the city, but supporters became disenchanted by its violence...

Sadr City Rebounds After Ceasefire
Sadr City Rebounds After Ceasefire
Jul 2, 2008 1:19 PM CDT

Sadr City Rebounds After Ceasefire

Trade blooms, rebuilding begins, but suspicions remain

(Newser) - The turnaround in Sadr City in the last two months has been dramatic—abandoned dusty lots are now markets stocked with piles of produce and teeming with shoppers; storefronts display suits, purses, shoes, and cosmetics, Time reports. The ceasefire between Iraqi PM al-Maliki and radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has been...

Sadr City Bomb Kills 4 Americans
Sadr City
Bomb Kills
4 Americans
Jun 24, 2008 8:23 AM CDT

Sadr City Bomb Kills 4 Americans

Second attack in as many days targeting reconstruction efforts

(Newser) - Two US troops and two US government employees were killed today during a suicide bombing at a local council building in Baghdad's Sadr City, the LA Times reports. The blast, the second this week that targeted Americans meeting with local officials, also claimed the lives of two Iraqis and wounded...

Sadr Cultivates Respect, Image to Reflect Power

Militia chief moves toward mainstream, hones clerical chops

(Newser) - Muqtada al-Sadr aims to shed his reputation as a dim-witted thug and become a respected Iraqi cleric like his father, the Washington Post reports, and has even spent the past year studying in Iran. Sadr, then nicknamed "Muqtada Atari" for his love of video games, was 25 when the...

Iraqi Army Rolls Into Sadr City
 Iraqi Army Rolls Into Sadr City 
May 20, 2008 9:08 AM CDT

Iraqi Army Rolls Into Sadr City

No bloodshed so far in peaceful takeover

(Newser) - Roughly 10,000 Iraqi troops peacefully marched deep into Sadr City today, the Baghdad ghetto that’s long been a stronghold for Muqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi Army. The incursion was part of a deal negotiated with Sadr last week, which allowed for inspections so long as the US wasn't...

Shiite Militants Agree to Sadr City Cease-Fire

But truce may not end weeks of violence there

(Newser) - Shiite militants have agreed to a cease-fire in Baghdad’s Sadr City, said an aide to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose militia is concentrated there, the AP reports. Sadrists “will stop fighting in Sadr City and will stop displaying arms in public,” the aide said. “In return, the...

US Rocket Attack Damages Iraqi Hospital

28 wounded; fleet of ambulances destroyed in blast

(Newser) - At least 28 people were wounded when US rockets struck near a Sadr City hospital today, destroying a fleet of ambulances, Reuters reports. The US says the attack was targeting a nearby militia “command and control” center. Hospital windows were shattered, but no patients were injured. The attack came...

Green Zone Strike Kills 2 in Sandstorm

Violence comes after al-Sadr's plea to end fighting

(Newser) - Hidden in a sandstorm, militants struck the US-protected Green Zone in Baghdad today and killed at least two Iraqis, the Los Angeles Times reports. The mortar or rocket attack, which also wounded 25, came just 2 days after influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered members of his Mahdi Army to end...

Iraqi Troops Seize Sadr Stronghold
Iraqi Troops Seize
Sadr Stronghold
Apr 19, 2008 9:11 AM CDT

Iraqi Troops Seize Sadr Stronghold

Fighting in Baghad kills 12, wounds 130

(Newser) - In a major new clash, Iraqi troops backed by American and British firepower today captured a stronghold of fighters loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Basra, said Iraqi officials. In a show of force, American planes and British artillery attacked a deserted area outside the Sadr-controlled section of Hayaniya...

US Builds Giant Wall in Sadr City

Partition aims to keep insurgents from neighborhood

(Newser) - American forces have begun construction of an enormous concrete wall that will partition Sadr City, one of Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhood. The structure is intended to make the southern section of Sadr City, a Shiite stronghold that borders the Green Zone, into a protected enclave, reports the New York Times....

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