WASHINGTON — Anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has fled his Baghdad stronghold for the friendly confines of Iran’s capital, FOX News can confirm via a senior United States official.
Al-Sadr left Iraq within the past few weeks out of fear for his safety and security and is with family in Tehran, where he has visited before, the official said.
His move comes as coalition forces crack down on the insurgency in Baghdad and ahead of the arrival of 21,500 U.S. troops sent by President George W. Bush to quell sectarian violence.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. monitoring activities, said fractures in al-Sadr’s political and militia operations may be part of the reason for his departure. The move is not believed to be permanent.
Word of al-Sadr’s departure coincides with an announcement that Iraq will close its borders with Iran and Syria for 72 hours as part of the drive to end the violence that has threatened to divide the capital along sectarian lines.
The U.S. official said it is not clear how firmly the radical Shiite cleric is controlling his organization and the associated Mahdi Army militia from exile.
“The question for us is to what extent his organization is going to participate in the political process,” the official told The Associated Press, referring to al-Sadr’s on-again, off-again relationship with the fragile democratic government in Baghdad.
Al-Sadr’s departure was reported by several television networks Tuesday.
Al-Sadr’s militia is widely seen as the main threat to Iraq’s unity and high on the list of targets for the Baghdad security operation.
A ragtag but highly motivated militia that fought U.S. forces twice in 2004, the Mahdi Army is blamed for much of the sectarian strife shaking Iraq since a Shiite shrine was bombed by Sunni militants a year ago. U.S. officials have for months pressed Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to move against the militia, but he has so far done little to comply, largely because he does not want to lose al-Sadr’s support.
Regardless of where he is hiding….he IS hiding:
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr said Wednesday that the radical Shiite cleric was still in Iraq, denying a report that he fled to Iran ahead of a security crackdown targeting his militia.
An Iraqi government official said al-Sadr was in the Shiite holy city of Najaf Tuesday night, when he received delegates from several government departments. The official, who is familiar with one of those meetings, spoke on condition of anonymity because he has no authority to disclose information on his department’s activities.
The denials came after a senior U.S. official said Tuesday that al-Sadr left his Baghdad stronghold some weeks ago and is believed to be in Tehran, where he has family.
The official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. monitoring activities, said fractures in al-Sadr’s political and militia operations may be part of the reason for his departure. The move is not believed to be permanent, the official said.
Al-Sadr’s militia is blamed for much of the sectarian violence and is widely seen as the main threat to Iraq’s unity and high on the list of targets for the Baghdad security operation.
Lawmaker Nassar al-Rubaie, the head of Sadrist bloc in parliament, insisted al-Sadr had not left the country.
"The news is not accurate because Muqtada al-Sadr is still in Iraq and he did not visit any country," al-Rubaie told The Associated Press.
A close aide who meets regularly with al-Sadr said the cleric was not in Tehran, said the report probably stemmed from a campaign by al-Sadr’s people to put out false information about his movements amid fears he will be detained by U.S.-led forces. The cleric also is sleeping in different places each night, the aide said.
An official in al-Sadr’s main office in Najaf also said the cleric had decided not to appear publicly during the current month of Muharam, one of four holy months in the Islamic calendar.
"The leader Muqtada al-Sadr is inside Iraq now," he said.
Both officials also declined to be identified because they weren’t authorized to disclose the information.
The black turbaned cleric rarely appears in public or announces his movements and his Mahdi Army militia has mostly been keeping a low profile ahead of the security sweep.
Al-Sadr was reportedly going to make a speech on Monday in Najaf to mark the anniversary of the bombing of an important Shiite shrine north of Baghdad, but he did not do so. The anniversary fell on Monday, according to the Islamic lunar calendar.
While the Mahdi Army has its stronghold in the Shiite district of Sadr City in Baghdad, al-Sadr has his headquarters in Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad.
A spokesman for the Sadrist bloc said the assertion that al-Sadr had fled was part of a "psychological war" by U.S.-led forces to try to prod the cleric into the open.
"The leadership of Muqtada al-Sadr is a brave one and will not leave the field," Saleh al-Ukaili said.
A ragtag but highly motivated militia that fought U.S. forces twice in 2004, the Mahdi Army is blamed for much of the sectarian strife shaking Iraq since a Shiite shrine was bombed by Sunni militants a year ago.
U.S. officials for months have pressed Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to move against the militia, but he has so far done little to comply, largely because he does not want to lose al-Sadr’s support.
Al-Sadr rose from obscurity after the ouster of Saddam Hussein to lead a movement of young, underprivileged Iraqis united by opposition to U.S. military presence as well as hunger for Shiite domination.
Following are five facts about Sadr, a key political ally of Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
* Washington says the Mehdi Army, a Shi’ite militia that claims loyalty to Sadr, is the biggest threat to Iraq’s security. U.S. officials and Sunni Arab leaders accuse the Mehdi Army of being behind many of the sectarian killings in Iraq. Sadr has publicly disavowed violence against fellow Iraqis.
* Sadr, whose stronghold is Baghdad’s sprawling Sadr City, led two uprisings against U.S. forces in 2004. The former U.S. occupation authority issued an arrest warrant for him for his alleged role in the murder of a rival cleric soon after the invasion. The arrest was never carried out.
* Sadr’s political group was instrumental in appointing Maliki, a fellow Shi’ite from the Dawa party, as prime minister in May. Sadr’s group has a quarter of the seats in the Shi’ite Alliance, parliament’s largest bloc, and controls several ministries.
* Sadr, a fiery nationalist who has called for American troops to leave Iraq, derives much of his authority from his family. His father, highly respected Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, was murdered in 1999 for defying Saddam Hussein. His father’s uncle Mohammed Baqir, was killed by Saddam in 1980 after calling for an Iranian-style Islamic state.
* Sadr, in his early 30s, attracts a zealous following among the young, poor and dispossessed. His rising power has unsettled Shi’ite religious elders in the holy city of Najaf, many of whom see the junior cleric as a dangerous upstart.