Anti-U.S. cleric al-Sadr a key player in Iraq

[ProSense]

Anti-U.S. cleric al-Sadr a key player in Iraq

POSTED: 2:34 p.m. EST, November 24, 2006

(CNN) -- Anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc is threatening to withdraw support from Iraq's government if next week's planned meeting in Jordan between President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki takes place.

Al-Sadr has been critical of U.S. actions in Iraq, and his faction blames the United States for creating the conditions that led to a bloodbath Thursday that killed more than 200 people in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City.

The cleric's movement holds significant power in the Iraqi government, and the threat of a walkout could jeopardize the stability of al-Maliki's administration, which has relied on the support of both the United States and fellow Shiites.

Here is some key background about the Shiite cleric's life:

# Al-Sadr is the son of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, who was killed by Saddam Hussein's regime in 1999 along with two other sons.

# Al-Sadr is the leader of the militia group known as the Mehdi Army, which has opposed the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. The number of Mehdi Army fighters is unknown, though estimates are in the thousands.

# In the chaos following Hussein's ouster in 2003, al-Sadr's followers established security and services in Baghdad's main Shiite neighborhood and in parts of southern Iraq.

# In 2004, al-Sadr's Mehdi Army fighters fiercely battled U.S.-led troops in Najaf, Iraq, from inside the Imam Ali shrine, one of the most holy places in Shiite Islam. That same year, Al-Sadr's forces also fought U.S. troops in Karbala, another city holy to Shiites.

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[Donna Zen]

1. Sadr wears a black turbin

which means he is a direct descendent of Mohammed. I noticed that CNN left out that bit of information today...but, that is very, very important.