ASHINGTON - Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has fled Iraq for Iran ahead of a security crackdown in Baghdad and President Bush's announced influx of 21,500 US troops, a senior US official said Tuesday.
The radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, gestures while delivering a Friday sermon in Iraq in this 2006 file photo. [AP]
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Al-Sadr left his Baghdad stronghold some weeks ago, the official said. Al-Sadr is believed to be in Tehran, where he has family. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss US monitoring activities, said fractures in al-Sadr's political and militia operations may be part of the reason for his departure. The move is probably not permanent, the official said.
