Hot Topics » China quake • America votes • Cannes • Myanmar • Campaign Trail • Olympics • more topics »
Recent deadly clashes in Basra and Baghdad's Sadr City represent Shiite-vs.-Shiite political maneuvering ahead of Iraqi provincial elections, analysts say.
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement has agreed to end its "armed presence" in Sadr City under an agreement reached with Iraq's government, Iraqi officials said Monday.
Representatives of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and lawmakers from Iraq's main Shiite political bloc signed a four-day cease-fire Monday
U.S. and Iraqi forces spent two months battling al-Sadr's Mahdi Army only to see the cleric standing strong after a hastily arranged cease-fire
A proposed election law could hurt the popular political movement of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- whose Mehdi Army militia followers have been battling U.S. and Iraqi troops in Baghdad's Sadr City.
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened "open war," against the American "occupiers" and not the Iraqi government, according to a letter read by a top aide during Friday prayers.
Anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement is "ready for all options" in a growing confrontation between his followers and the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a spokesman said Monday.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is calling on political parties to unite against armed groups in Iraq, a spokesman said Sunday, warning that "Iraq cannot be the new Somalia."
The leader of the Mahdi Army warns of open war against the U.S.-backed government of Iraq, a U.S. Secretary of State Rice makes an announced visit to Iraq in support of al-Maliki
The Shi'ite militia leader voices new demands and strengthens his hand, as insurgents send out car bombs north and west of Baghdad
Recent deadly clashes in Basra and Baghdad's Sadr City represent Shiite-vs.-Shiite political maneuvering ahead of Iraqi provincial elections, analysts say.
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement has agreed to end its "armed presence" in Sadr City under an agreement reached with Iraq's government, Iraqi officials said Monday.
Representatives of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and lawmakers from Iraq's main Shiite political bloc signed a four-day cease-fire Monday
U.S. and Iraqi forces spent two months battling al-Sadr's Mahdi Army only to see the cleric standing strong after a hastily arranged cease-fire
A proposed election law could hurt the popular political movement of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- whose Mehdi Army militia followers have been battling U.S. and Iraqi troops in Baghdad's Sadr City.
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened "open war," against the American "occupiers" and not the Iraqi government, according to a letter read by a top aide during Friday prayers.
Anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement is "ready for all options" in a growing confrontation between his followers and the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a spokesman said Monday.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is calling on political parties to unite against armed groups in Iraq, a spokesman said Sunday, warning that "Iraq cannot be the new Somalia."
The leader of the Mahdi Army warns of open war against the U.S.-backed government of Iraq, a U.S. Secretary of State Rice makes an announced visit to Iraq in support of al-Maliki
The Shi'ite militia leader voices new demands and strengthens his hand, as insurgents send out car bombs north and west of Baghdad
Even as the fighting between Iraqi troops and the Shi'ite leader's militia died down over part of the weekend, the government's latest action could reignite tensions
As the curfew on Sadr City was set to be lifted, a Moqtada al-Sadr associate is killed, threatening Shi'ite violence
A senior aide to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was assassinated Friday in the holy city of Najaf. Authorities immediately announced a citywide curfew and security forces deployed on the streets
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called off a mass demonstration set for Wednesday in Baghdad and threatened to formally end the seven-month cease-fire of his Mehdi Army militia.
Iraq's top Shiite religious leaders have told anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr not to disband his Mehdi Army, an al-Sadr spokesman said Monday amid fresh fighting in the militia's Baghdad strongholds.
Three U.S. soldiers were killed and 31 others wounded in two rocket attacks Sunday afternoon in Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Friday ordered his security forces to stop raids on suspected Shiite militia members to "give time to those who are repentant" to lay down their weapons.
Two Shiite imams delivered very different sermons Friday, one sharply criticizing the Iraqi prime minister for his recent military push into Basra and the other praising the Iraqi leader for his "bravery" and "sacrifice."
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr offered Thursday to help purge Iraqi security forces of militia members.
Deaths among Iraqi civilians, security forces and insurgents jumped in March because of the recent spasm of violence in the country's Shiite regions, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.
The British defense minister on Tuesday said the number of British troops in Iraq will remain at the current level of around 4,000 for the time being.
Iran was integral in persuading Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to halt attacks by his militia on Iraqi security forces, an Iraqi lawmaker said Monday.
The fortified Green Zone came under renewed attack Monday, less than 24 hours after anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for his fighters to stand down
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on followers to stop shooting and cooperate with Iraqi security forces Sunday, a move Iraq's government praised as a step toward ending six days of fighting that has left hundreds dead.
A strict curfew was extended indefinitely in the Iraqi capital Sunday as the death toll mounted from clashes between government troops and Shiite Muslim militants.
The fighting among Shiite militias and government troops in Basra is a glimpse of Iraq's future, and pivotal cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in deep trouble, according to two CNN correspondents and a CNN military analyst.
Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged the Iraqi government to end a crackdown on his militia after two days of fighting left more than 100 people dead across southern Iraq, an aide said Wednesday.
Fighting between Iraqi security forces and supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr left 50 dead in the southern city of Basra and spread to several Baghdad districts Tuesday, Iraqi officials said.
The grass-roots cleric whose Mehdi Army militia has gained notoriety among coalition troops admitted many followers have split from his movement or do not heed his leadership.
Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has extended for six months the cease-fire he imposed last summer on his Mehdi Army militia, al-Sadr's office in Baghdad said Friday.
The radical Shi'ite leader extends the cease-fire that has helped reduce violence. But is he just keeping his powder dry?
The Mehdi Army cease-fire that has been credited with helping to reduce violence in Iraq since August could end soon, a spokesman for the radical cleric who heads the Shiite militia said Wednesday.
With the Shi'ite cleric's Mahdi Army ending its cease-fire, the U.S. is downplaying his capacity for mischief. That's a mistake
The U.S. military called radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's order to suspend his Mehdi Army militia for the next six months "encouraging."
Clashes between Shiite militias left dozens of people dead and hundreds wounded in Karbala and Baghdad, prompting Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Tuesday to call for calm, his spokesman said.
A roadside bomb Monday killed the governor of the predominantly Shiite Muthanna province, police said, the second assassination of a top provincial official in just over a week
U.S. troops and fighters from radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army clashed outside one of al-Sadr's main offices Sunday.
Anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered six cabinet ministers from his political bloc to leave Iraq's government on Monday, making good on a threat issued last week after the prime minister rejected a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops.
Anti-U.S. Shiite cleric and militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr will announce Monday the departure of his movement's six ministers from Iraq's government to press demands for the U.S. to leave Iraq, the bloc's spokesman Saleh al-Ageili told CNN.
A powerful and radical Shiite cleric implored his followers Sunday to stop killing Iraqis and focus their violent efforts on ousting American forces from the war-torn nation.
Powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is calling for an anti-American protest in the Iraqi city of Najaf on April 9, the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
A man with ties to a radical Shiite cleric is in U.S. custody in connection with an attack that killed five American soldiers in Karbala in January, U.S. officials said.
A top aide to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was released from jail Wednesday, a source in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office and a senior U.S. military official told CNN.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman denied Sunday that Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Iraqi Shiite cleric who opposes the U.S. presence in Iraq, is in Iran.
The United States insists a radical Shiite cleric is in Iran despite denials from Muqtada al-Sadr's supporters.
Iraq plans to close its borders with Iran and Syria for 72 hours in an attempt to secure the capital, the Iraqi commander in charge of Baghdad's security plan announced Tuesday.
A militant group in Iraq has posted a video that shows what it says is an American helicopter being shot down.
U.S. and Iraqi forces arrested the Iraqi deputy health minister Thursday morning in a raid on the Health Ministry complex in Baghdad, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.
The creation of a moderate political alliance in Iraq appeared to have made no progress Friday and was further complicated by the Shiite leadership claims that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr must not be excluded.
The powerful Shiite-led political bloc in Iraq's Parliament will meet with the country's lead ayatollah and the anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to promote Shiite unity and persuade al-Sadr followers to rejoin the government, a member of the Alliance said.
One day after suspending participation in Iraq's government, the bloc loyal to anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced a possible new political alliance with Sunnis and Christians.
Enraged Shiites burned people to death, torched mosques and denounced Sunni leaders and the United States a day after a bloody assault on Sadr City, the Iraq capital's Shiite bastion.
U.S. and Iraqi forces on Wednesday launched a raid in Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's turf in eastern Baghdad.
British and Iraqi officials said Friday that order has been restored in a southern Iraqi city after a Shiite militia reportedly took control in fighting that left at least 16 people dead.
Insurgents in Iraq struck three Sunni mosques and a Shiite holy place on Friday, the holiest day of the Muslim week, killing at least 10 people and wounding 55 others.
Iraqis started the year with a historic transitional assembly election. They voted for a constitution in October. And on Thursday they will cap their tumultuous year when many are expected vote for a full four-year parliament.
Following bloody battles in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Thursday called for an end to violence between his supporters and those loyal to a rival Shiite leader.
A third midnight deadline for Iraq's proposed constitution passed without agreement Thursday, with negotiators taking another day to resolve their differences before sending the charter to voters, the country's parliament speaker said.
The U.S. military has launched a new offensive against insurgents and foreign fighters in western Iraq's Anbar province, an area that has been the scene of a string of deadly attacks on American forces this week.
Calls for Saddam Hussein's war crimes trial to begin coincided with the release of pictures showing him undressed and violent protests by supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
A coalition fielding 228 candidates and supported by Iraq's top Shiite cleric has been formed to compete in the January 30 national elections.
More than 2,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops are targeting insurgents in the northern section of Babil province, even as insurgents targeted a hotel near Baghdad's Green Zone.
The Turkish Embassy in Baghdad said Sunday that 10 employees of a U.S.-Turkish company were kidnapped in Iraq, a day after the wife of an American held captive in Iraq pleaded for his life.
Thousands of demonstrators supporting -- and hundreds opposing -- Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took to the streets in Iraq on Friday as U.S. soldiers fought insurgents in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood and near Falluja.
A top aide for Muqtada al-Sadr has said the maverick Shiite cleric "has called for a cease-fire by the Mehdi Army in all provinces of Iraq unless it is in the case of self-defense."
Militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr say they have handed over the keys of a revered Muslim shrine in Najaf to Shiite religious leaders, The Associated Press reports.
Combat operations in Najaf were temporarily suspended late Friday to allow political negotiations with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to go forward, U.S. military officials reported.
Armed militia loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ignored Iraqi government orders to disarm and leave the Imam Ali Mosque on Thursday as the nation's interim prime minister issued a final call for them to comply.
Hours after the Iraqi interim prime minister issued a "final call" for Muqtada al-Sadr's forces to disarm, a series of explosions erupted late Thursday near the Imam Ali Mosque and intense gunbattles raged around the Shiite shrine overnight.
A British journalist kidnapped in the southern Iraqi city of Basra by militants and threatened with death has been released.
How has Muqtada al-Sadr gained so much attention?
Iraq's interim prime minister announced on Saturday a temporary amnesty that would let some of the insurgency's minor players off the hook.
Four Iraqi National Guardsman died and six were wounded Tuesday when a suicide car bomb rocked a checkpoint near the eastern city of Baquba, police said.
A mosque used to store ammunition used by the militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was burning after an explosion Monday afternoon, according to witnesses.
Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced a deal Monday to disband nine militias.
U.S. troops on Thursday battled insurgents in Kufa suspected of firing dozens of mortars at a forward operating base outside of the city, U.S. military officials said.
A firefight erupted Sunday night in Kufa, Iraq, when U.S. troops clashed with insurgents loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the troops' commanding officer said.
U.S.-led coalition forces killed about 50 members of a radical cleric's militia in overnight battles in the south-central Iraqi city of Najaf, a senior coalition official said Wednesday.
General John Abizaid likes to travel on the edge. He is riding in a Black Hawk helicopter as it tears across the skies of central Iraq, skimming treetops and flushing startled sheep out onto the grassy pastures beneath.
Iraq's interim government, slated to take charge in 45 says, will have the authority to order coalition troops to leave, but a member of the Iraqi Governing Council said Sunday it is unlikely to do so.
Coalition forces entered the center of Fallujah on Monday, the site of intense fighting between Marines and Iraqi insurgents last month.
At least five people were killed Sunday in an explosion at a crowded Baghdad market, police said, while coalition forces in Najaf stepped up operations against radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his banned Mehdi Army militia.
Supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr clashed with coalition troops in the southern city of Basra Saturday morning, according to a British military spokesman.
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr rallied his supporters with condemnation of the prisoner abuse crisis during his weekly sermon Friday at Kufa mosque, near the site of pitched battles between his Mehdi Army militia and U.S. troops.
Three U.S. soldiers were killed in fighting in the south-central Iraqi town of Diwaniyah, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
Coalition forces are reported to have killed a deputy of Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric whose militia has launched an uprising against U.S.-led troops in Baghdad's Sadr City and Iraq's southern cities.
Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr would disarm his militia and drop his conditions for negotiating with the U.S.-led coalition if Iraq's top Shiite spiritual body approves, his spokesman said Wednesday.
The radical Shiite cleric wanted by U.S.-led forces in Iraq said in a TV interview Tuesday that he is ready to die to end the U.S. "occupation."
It had become a ritual. Each friday hundreds of young, impoverished Shi'ite men would pile into beat-up Kia minibuses in a Baghdad slum known as Sadr City.
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose militia has been fighting with U.S. troops throughout Iraq, issued demands to the coalition through his deputy on Saturday.
City by city, insurgents and coalition forces slugged it out with lethal intensity on Wednesday.
How has Muqtada al-Sadr gotten so much attention? Believed to be about 30 years old, al-Sadr is the son of a grand ayatollah but U.S. officials think his support is relatively small, and concentrated among the young and poor.
An influential Shiite cleric in Iraq called Israel's targeted killing of the spiritual leader of Hamas a "dirty crime against Islam" and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, "a miracle from God."
Gunmen shot and wounded an aide of an influential Shiite Muslim cleric heading to Friday prayers in the holy city of Najaf, sources said.
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
Video
