Muqtada al-Sadr

Eight U.S. soldiers and 22 Iraqis died in fighting in the slum district of Sadr City in the Iraqi capital while 20 Iraqis and one Salvadorean soldier died in Kufa.

The day's events constituted the most serious challenge to the U.S.-led occupation by an element of the country's majority Shiite population, which has observed a broad tolerance of the United States and its allies.

The fighting pitted forces led by the United States, Britain and Spain against the Mahdi Army, a militia controlled by Muqtada al-Sadr, a junior cleric whose following is concentrated among the urban poor.

The clash in Kufa occurred less than 2 km from the mosque where two days earlier al-Sadr, who has been at odds with occupation authorities for months, for the first time urged his followers to "strike" occupation forces "where you meet them."

The Japan Times Weekly: April 10, 2004
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