Mahdi Army

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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...

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...

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,"...

UK Troops Accused of Executing Iraqis

Five men file suit, say soldiers killed and tortured 20 captives

(Newser) - British soldiers killed up to 20 Iraqi captives after a 2004 firefight, say lawyers representing five men taken prisoner that day, the BBC reports. The men—described by their lawyers as laborers, not insurgents—say they heard UK soldiers killing and torturing captives at a British base after the gun...

Sadr Extends Ceasefire 6 Months
Sadr Extends Ceasefire 6 Months
Feb 22, 2008 7:38 AM CST

Sadr Extends Ceasefire 6 Months

Rumors confirmed as cleric calls on Mahdi Army to freeze activities

(Newser) - Muqtada al-Sadr has extended the ceasefire of his Mahdi Army by six months, writes the Wall Street Journal, confirming yesterday's rumors from US officials. At midday prayers across Iraq imams read out the announcement of the Shiite cleric, who had been under pressure from some of his followers to allow...

Al-Sadr to Extend Ceasefire
Al-Sadr to Extend Ceasefire
Feb 21, 2008 11:57 AM CST

Al-Sadr to Extend Ceasefire

Six-month renewal of cleric's truce key to Iraq security gains, US says

(Newser) - Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will prolong by six months the ceasefire that has reduced violence across Iraq, officials tell Reuters. Sadr today sent a sealed sermon to mosques across Iraq to be read during midday prayers tomorrow. Exact details won’t be known until those envelopes are unsealed, but “the...

Al-Sadr May Call Off Ceasefire
Al-Sadr May Call Off Ceasefire
Feb 20, 2008 11:28 AM CST

Al-Sadr May Call Off Ceasefire

Will expire Saturday unless cleric renews; could jeopardize gains in security

(Newser) - The ceasefire ordered last August by Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr expires Saturday, and unless he renews it, his Mahdi Army will again take up arms—raising US fears that gains in staunching sectarian bloodshed across Iraq could jeopardized. Al-Sadr hasn't signaled his intentions, but some say US and Iraqi raids...

US Teams With Al-Sadr
US Teams With Al-Sadr
Nov 12, 2007 5:27 PM CST

US Teams With Al-Sadr

Common enemies inspire peculiar alliance

(Newser) - The US military and the man who was once considered the most powerful destabilizing force in Iraq, Moqtada al-Sadr, now have a common enemy: rogue members of Sadr's Mahdi Army. Since Sadr declared a ceasefire three months ago, US commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, have been secretly meeting with Sadr's...

Bomb Wounds Highest Ranking Officer Injured in Iraq

Iraqi army finds eight of 10 kidnapped sheiks

(Newser) - A roadside bomb blew shrapnel today into the highest-ranking US commander yet injured in Iraq, CNN reports. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Dorko, who had taken command October 10, was evacuated to Germany after the bomb detonated by his vehicle in Baghdad. His injuries were not life-threatening and he...

US Forces Kill 49 in Sadr City
US Forces Kill 49 in Sadr City
Oct 21, 2007 1:13 PM CDT

US Forces Kill 49 in Sadr City

Iraqi witnesses claim women, children among the dead

(Newser) - The US military said it killed 49 gunmen today in a Sadr City raid aimed at capturing an Iranian-linked rebel leader suspected of kidnapping coalition members and foreigners. But Iraqi witnesses pin the death toll at 13, including two toddlers, Reuters reports. Military officials were mum on whether the rogue...

Washington Post Reporter Killed in Iraq

Shot taking photos in embattled neighborhood

(Newser) - A Washington Post correspondent in Iraq was killed yesterday reporting from one of the  most volatile neighborhoods in Baghdad. Iraqi Salih Saif Aldin, 32, was shot in the head while taking photographs of burned-out homes. US news organizations rely heavily on Iraqi correspondents willing to  brave the hazards outside the...

Baghdad Shiites Turn Away From Mahdi Army

As al-Sadr's militia degenerates, locals seek out US military

(Newser) - In Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, a substantial shift in allegiances is under way, the  Times reports: locals are beginning to turn from the Mahdi Army, the militia that once represented their best defense against Sunni insurgents. A lack of coherent ideology has turned a militia into a gang, and local...

Iraqi Shiite Leaders Call Truce
Iraqi Shiite Leaders
Call Truce
Oct 6, 2007 3:02 PM CDT

Iraqi Shiite Leaders Call Truce

Sides that clashed in Karbala seek to curb bloodshed

(Newser) - Two Shiite leaders made peace in Iraq today in hope of ending their bitter feud and curbing bloodshed, Reuters reports. Moqtada Al-Sadr and Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, leaders of parliament's main Shiite blocs, agreed to form committees and solve problems together around the country. Fighting between the factions has intensified this...

US Forces Talking With Sadr's Army
US Forces
Talking With
Sadr's Army
Sep 12, 2007 9:14 AM CDT

US Forces Talking With Sadr's Army

Dialogue with radical group represents a reverse face

(Newser) - US officials are holding their noses and negotiating with the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, the LA Times reports. The US has held a hard line against the radical cleric, but analysts say that the military has grudgingly accepted that the Mahdi Army is currently holding...

Gun Battle, Airstrikes in Baghdad Kill 14

US cites ambush by Shiite militia; Sadr says victims were civilians

(Newser) - US and Iraqi forces backed by airstrikes clashed with suspected members of Shiite militias today in a gun battle that killed 14 Iraqis and wounded nine, reports the LA Times. US officials said soldiers were ambushed by more than a dozen rooftop gunmen, but a spokesman for anti-US cleric Muqtada...

Al-Sadr Tells Mahdi Army to Stand Down

Cleric orders six-month suspension of activity to reorganize

(Newser) - Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called for a six-month suspension of activity by his Mahdi Army to reorganize the force. The hostile group has splintered into multiple factions recently, some of which may be trained and supplied by Iran.

Bomb Kills 2nd Iraqi Governor
Bomb Kills
2nd Iraqi Governor
Aug 20, 2007 9:12 AM CDT

Bomb Kills 2nd Iraqi Governor

Top provincial official slain in his SUV, police blame Mahdi Army

(Newser) - The governor of Muthanna province was killed by a roadside bomb today—a little more than a week after another Iraqi governor was assassinated. Mohammed Ali al-Hassani's SUV was struck en route to his office in the morning. Police are blaming Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, which has clashed with the...

US Kills 30 in Baghdad
US Kills 30 in Baghdad
Aug 8, 2007 5:21 PM CDT

US Kills 30 in Baghdad

Women and children may counted among the dead

(Newser) - The US killed 30 militants and detained another dozen in an overnight air strike on a military stronghold in a Shiite district of Baghdad. Witnesses counted women and children among the slain, though the US claims all 30 were insurgents linked to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

UK May Seek Iran's Help on Iraqi Captives

Brits suspect kidnappers connected to Iran; search in Sadr City continues

(Newser) - Britain may ask Iran for help in finding the five British hostages kidnapped in Iraq. Senior Iraqi officials think a rogue faction of the Mahdi Army—possibly under the influence of Iranian intelligence —is responsible for the kidnappings. British sources tell the Guardian they believe the kidnapping was not...

Five Brits Kidnapped in Baghdad
Five Brits Kidnapped in Baghdad
May 30, 2007 4:41 AM CDT

Five Brits Kidnapped in Baghdad

Gunmen wearing Iraqi uniforms stormed finance ministry

(Newser) - Five Britons—four members of a private security detail and a financial consultant—were kidnapped in Baghdad yesterday by gunmen wearing Iraqi police uniforms. The kidnappers are said to have barged into the finance ministry around noon, demanding, "Where are the foreigners?"  After rounding up the British civilians,...

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