...conclusions can be drawn: the Iraqi state and the Iraqi army can function on their own; an influential figure in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, is much weaker than he was deemed to be; and Iran has bet on the wrong horse. As a result of being unable to rely on...
... Since March 25, US and Iraqi forces have been battling anti-government fighters, mostly those belonging to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. Hundreds of people have since been killed. #1Â killed seven people and wounded 20 others, right...
...assault on Shia fighters. Sadr City has seen relentless violence in a nearly two-month campaign against followers of Muqtada al-Sadr. UNICEF says around 6,000 people have already been forced to flee. Up to 150,000, half of them children, are said to be...
We couldn't decide what made us cringe more while reading Time magazine's fifth annual list of the world's 100 most influential people: some of the choices (Muqtada al-Sadr? Brangelina? Vladimir Putin?) or some of the obsequious log-rolling -...
Background
Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr (مقتدى الصدر Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr) (b. August 12, 1973) is the fourth son of the famous Iraqi Shi‘a cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir As-Sadr. As of early 2004, he was the de facto ruler of the Sadr City section of Baghdad and commanded the loyalty of the Mahdi Army, an insurgent force making a bid for power in Iraq. Clashes with U.S. forces in April were followed by a truce in June, and mixed signals from al-Sadr after his promises to disband his militia and become involved in the political process. The Coalition Provisional Authority had on several occasions threatened to arrest al-Sadr, and in early April 2004 issued an arrest warrant, alleging his involvement in a homicide (see below). U.S. military commanders expressed an intention to "capture or kill" him. Then al-Sadr had agreed to disband his army and join the political process, and he was given assurances that he would not face arrest and be allowed to stand in the 2005 elections. However, tensions rose again in August, and U.S. and Iraqi forces decided to move against al-Sadr with the intent to kill him. In October 2006, he made public appearances with the current president of Iraq Jalal Talabani raising controversy over his influence in the new government.
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Timeline
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22 hours ago from Media Mouse