Muqtada Sadr

Early today, aides to anti-American Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr denied reports that he had left Iraq and was thought to be in Tehran, where he has relatives. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that Sadr had left his Baghdad stronghold weeks ago but probably would return. He said fractures in Sadr's political and militia operations were probably to blame for the cleric's departure.

The bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad on Tuesday makes it clear that American forces are not only fighting remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime and disgruntled Iraqis but also facing a panoply of factions that could begin to use Iraq as a new arena for pursuing jihad against America. These are the same kinds of motivated individuals who spent nine long years fighting and defeating the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Iraq will be the prime magnet of every militant Muslim in the world.

Re "Cleric's Militia Still Controls Najaf Mosque," Aug. 22: How much longer can President Bush ignore the views of the French, the Russians and the rest of the world? They claim we're not listening to the will of the Iraqi people, and they're right. We should be listening to the Iraqis and acting on their behalf. For instance, cleric Muqtada Sadr's supporters hung a banner inside the occupied shrine that reads, "Where is the bullet that will grant me martyrdom?" Well, President Bush, we need to provide that bullet as quickly as possible.

Supporters of cleric Muqtada Sadr remained in control of the Imam Ali Mosque on Saturday as negotiations continued over terms for handing the shrine over to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite religious leader. No weapons were visible inside the mosque, reporters allowed inside said, but armed fighters of Sadr's Al Mahdi militia still stood guard in the maze of narrow streets nearby. At a greater distance from the shrine, U.S.

Three people were reported killed and dozens wounded during a demonstration in the southeastern city of Kut after protesters set fire to several government buildings as the country was roiled by demonstrations for the second time in three days. The protest in Kut, capital of Wasit province, was the latest demonstration in Iraq inspired by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that ousted longtime Arab heads of state. Iraqis, fed up of a lack of basic services and angry with their politicians, attacked the governor's office, his residence and the provincial council building, said Kadhim Saiyadi, a Kut lawmaker with Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr's movement.

At least four Iraqis were killed and 36 injured Wednesday as fighting continued between U.S. troops and militiamen in the holy cities of Najaf and Kufa, hospital officials and witnesses said. No U.S. casualties were reported. Clashes erupted around dusk when U.S. tanks approached the Kufa mosque, controlled by dozens of militiamen loyal to Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr. Gunfire and bombing sent nearby residents fleeing, witnesses said.

With its twin minarets and glinting gold dome, the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf has been a beacon for the Muslim faithful for more than a thousand years. But with fighting raging around the Iraqi shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam is reprising a different historical role: rallying point against foreign forces. In 1920, rebels intent on kicking out British troops occupying the region gathered at the mosque and readied for revolt.

Mercurial Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr once again has people guessing about his next move. Officially, the young religious leader -- whose summer standoff with U.S. troops in Najaf threatened to spark a Shiite rebellion across Iraq -- says he's not participating in next month's national elections. Supporters, however, say he has dozens of stealth candidates on various slates.

A top aide to Muqtada Sadr said Thursday that militiamen loyal to the rebel cleric were willing to hand over their weapons as part of a peace initiative to end fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City slum. But he demanded in return that the fighters not be "persecuted" and that Sadr aides be released from U.S. custody.

Two bombs exploded in quick succession Tuesday, killing at least seven Iraqis in a downtown market in the capital, and gunmen in Fallouja assassinated the head of the City Council. In western Baghdad, a representative of radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr also was shot to death Tuesday. The violence appears to be tied to the Shiite holiday of Ashura, the commemoration of the 7th century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad. The annual event culminates Thursday.