A radical Shiite cleric reportedly is losing control of his militia as portions break off to become hired guns in Baghdad neighborhoods.
Since Moqtada Al Sadr has taken a more active role in Iraq's government, his militiamen have become frustrated by the constraints and have broken away, the New York Times said Thursday. Splinter groups are hiring themselves out as death squads and criminal gangs, the newspaper said.
Shiites dominate Sadr's militia, the Times said, and are organized into neighborhood protection forces. His militias have listened to Sadr in the past, but as violence in Iraq spread, so did the militias' waywardness, the Times said.
Sadr still has as many as 7,000 militiamen in Baghdad, the Times said.
Iraqi cleric losing control of militias
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