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Iraq Shiite parties have been holding negoiations with al Sadr-representatives to try and find a peaceful way to end the standoff.'Al-Sayad al-Sadr issued instructions for his followers to leave the sites of police and the government,' said lawyer Murtada al Janabi, on of al Sadr representative in the talks.Over the weekend, a negioator for the Shiite Islamic Dawa Party presented al Sadr's side with a letter of conditions from the Americans for ending the crisis. The demands include dissolution of the al-Mahdi Army, withdraw from all government facilites and respect for law, according to the Dawa representative, Hameed al-Maliki.Al Janabi...

NAJAF, Iraq - The forces of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in this holy Shiite city and neighboring Kufa braced Saturday for an American assault, with hundreds of men with assault rifles roaming the streets and guarding makeshift checkpoints. In anticipation of violence and because of a major religious occasion this weekend, most stores in Najaf and Kufa were closed. Some owners emptied shops of goods, storing them at home for fear of looting amid any violence, residents said. No police or coalition troops from the Spanish contingent in charge of security in the two cities could be seen. U.S. commanders...

A militia loyal to radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- believed to number several thousand -- is battling coalition forces in Baghdad and other towns in Iraq. The Al-Mahdi Army was formed last summer, when al-Sadr said it would be a nonviolent force used primarily for security. That changed last weekend, however, when al-Sadr issued a call for his followers to "terrorize" the enemy. Prague, 8 April 2004 (RFE/RL) – On 4 April, Muhammad Abbas closed his small shop in Baghdad's Sha'ala district, bought a machine gun, and joined the Al-Mahdi Army of radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in...

Al-Sadr's Militia Named After Messianic Image By Tish Wells San Jose Mercury News Wed, Apr. 07, 2004 [EXCERPT] WASHINGTON - Muqtada al-Sadr summoned one of Shiite Islam's most messianic images when he chose the name Mahdi Army for his militia. The mahdi is believed to be the successor to Muhammad who will return to save the world. The word isn't mentioned in the Quran or in the collected sayings attributed to Muhammad, known as the hadiths. But the term is common to both Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam as the term for a leader who will bring righteousness to...

Iraqi Fighters Planning Friday Attack, Corriere Della Sera Says By Steve Scherer April 7 (Bloomberg) -- Iraqi militants are planning to attack foreign forces, such as the U.S. and Italian military compounds, on Friday, the anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Corriere della Sera newspaper said citing a report by Italy's foreign intelligence service. There have been ``insistent and circumstantial signals of an imminent and simultaneous attack by Baathist loyalists to the old regime against foreign forces,'' Corriere said citing the report. The U.S.-led coalition is facing an uprising in the south by a militia loyal to a...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Marines fought insurgents in Ramadi and Fallujah Wednesday and combat flared in six other cities as a rebellion led by an upstart Shiite cleric continued into its fourth day. One U.S. soldier was reported killed Wednesday, and coalition soldiers from Ukraine abandoned Al Kut in central Iraq, leaving it to soldiers from Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army. Sadr's militia was already in control of Najaf, the holy Shiite city. U.S. Marines, while nominally in control of Fallujah and Ramadi, continued to face opposition. Witnesses in Ramadi said Marines who'd been fighting for 24 hours straight paused...

Palestinian fedayeen fighters have joined the ranks of the rebel Mahdi Army militia in recent days, militia leaders here told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday. The coalition forces accuse firebrand Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army of stirring up a rebellion in a swath of predominately Shi'ite cities in the center and south of the country that led to more than 100 Iraqi and 20 coalition forces' deaths. Some 25 Palestinian fighters volunteered as suicide bombers against American troops, Sa'id Amr al-Husseini, one of Sadr's leading lieutenants said Wednesday at the headquarters of the Mahdi Army in Sadr City, Baghdad's largest...

Coalition Vows To Destroy Sadr's 'Mahdi Army' Militia By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, April 7, 2004 – U.S. officials in Baghdad today vowed to defeat insurgents and restore order in Iraq after a third day of countrywide attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces. Coalition Provisional Authority officials blamed outlaw Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his "Mahdi Army" militia for many of the recent attacks. Iraqi officials have put out an arrest warrant on Sadr for his alleged role in the murder of a prominent Shiia cleric last year. "We will attack to destroy the Mahdi Army,"...

<p>BAGHDAD (AP) — A top U.S. general in Iraq vowed on Wednesday to "destroy" a Shiite militia led by wanted radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr that has launched a wave of attacks against coalition forces in southern cities.</p> <p>"We will attack to destroy the al-Mahdi Army," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters. "Those attacks will be deliberate, precise and they will be successful."</p>

NAJAF - A RADICAL Shiite cleric whose supporters have led three days of bloody clashes against coalition forces across Iraq said yesterday he was willing to die to end the United States-led occupation. Muqtada al-Sadr left the sanctuary of a mosque in Kufa for the holy city of Najaf where he issued a statement urging his followers to fight the coalition. The US this week announced a warrant for Sadr’s arrest on a murder charge. Yesterday, coalition troops in Amarah, Nasiriyah, Kut and Karbala continued to fight against members of Sadr’s militia in battles that have left at least...

It sounds like there's quite the fight going on. Let's crush the bastards/

Shiite cleric moves to sacred shrine By Peter Cave in Baghdad The Shiite cleric at the centre of an uprising by tens of thousands of his supporters across central and southern Iraq has reportedly moved from his headquarters in Kufa to one of the most sacred Shia shrines in the holy city of Najaf. Moqtada al-Sadr is reportedly in the Imman Ali shrine, surrounded by thousands of armed supporters who have taken over religious, government and police buildings in the holy city. Mr Sadr has been threatened with arrest for the murder of a rival cleric a year ago in...

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BAGHDAD – Just a year ago, Ayad Abdullah Hussein shared in the jubilation when the much-feared Saddam Hussein was toppled. But today, he is afraid again - this time, of Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army, who have been in open battle with coalition forces since the weekend. "I'm glad the Americans liberated us from the regime, though I expect them to keep their promise and leave Iraq soon,'' says the grandfather, who has lived in Baghdad's Khadimiya neighborhood for most of his 63 years. Then he nods at the mosque up the street. "But those guys over...

NASSIRIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Radical Shi'ite militiamen fought gun battles with Italian troops in the southern town of Nassiriya on Tuesday and two civilians were killed, witnesses said. The violence was part of a surge of unrest led by Moqtada al-Sadr, a cleric fiercely opposed to the U.S.-led occupation. The fighting in Nassiriya erupted at about 4 a.m. (0000 GMT) and continued into the morning. Four Italian vehicles had been burned in the clashes in the Zeitoun district, witnesses said. Pro-Sadr fighters were still controlling the area, near the local headquarters of Iraq (news - web sites)'s Coalition Provisional...