Radical Shiite Cleric and coalition fugitive Moqtada Sadr gives Friday prayers at a mosque in the small Iraqi town of Kufa on Aprile 23, 2004. Sadr threatened to launch suicide attacks if U.S. troops attack him and his forces in the holy city of Najaf. (UPI Photo/Mitch Prothero)
Moqtada Sadr is the subject or is mentioned in the following stories:
Troops Switch Gears Amid Surge Success
BAGHDAD -- Hearts-and-minds counter-insurgency strategy is increasingly coming to the fore in the way U.S. military forces conduct operations in Baghdad following the apparent success of Gen. David Petreauss troop surge in dampening violence in the capital.
Probing why Women Kill in Iraq
A series of raids in Iraqs troubled Diyala province last weekend included the arrest of a woman purportedly in charge of recruiting female suicide bombers. If true, the detention of Antisar Khudair could provide the United States and Iraqi forces with clues about how women are trained for "martyrdom operations."
Bullets to Ballots in Iraq
The Mehdi Army is no longer up in arms. In fact, the Shiite militia that ruled Sadr City in Baghdad and parts of Basra has been ordered by its boss, the volatile young nationalist imam, Moqtada Sadr, to lay down its arms. Instead he wants to turn the group into a social service organization, relying for its influence on winning hearts and minds rather than the barrel of a gun.
U.S and Iran Bicker and Flirt on Iraq's SOFA
The outcome of ongoing negotiations between Iraq and the United States over the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) could decide the direction of this emerging polity and be a leverage test for old foes who seem to love to be at odds.
