WASHINGTON -- Moqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shi'ite Muslim preacher who has steadfastly fought against American forces in Iraq, has emerged as one of the most powerful leaders in the country, holding the key to ending the tit-for-tat sectarian violence that threatens to drag Iraq into civil war, US officials say.
Sadr's unofficial militia, known as the Mahdi Army, has steadily swelled from a few hundred men in 2003 at the time of the US invasion to more than 10,000 fighters. State Department and Defense Department officials say Sadr's fighters have kidnapped and killed Sunni civilians in retaliation for attacks on Shi'ites, playing a growing role in the sectarian violence that has engulfed Baghdad since the February bombing of a Shi'ite shrine.
Yesterday, a joint US-Iraqi military raid targeting a kidnapping-and-torture operation in Sadr's stronghold in eastern Baghdad erupted into a two-hour, helicopter-supported battle with Sadr's increasingly formidable militia. The raid demonstrated the Americans' determination to challenge Sadr's militia before it grows stronger, even as they seek to avoid a full-fledged military confrontation.
Attacking Sadr carries significant risks for the United States as well as the Iraqi government. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite who relies on Sadr for political support, said yesterday he was ``very angered" by the raid, and warned that such operations could ruin his efforts to bring about national reconciliation.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/08/08/us_tries_to_curb_a_powerful_iraqi_and_his_militia/