CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Following the US withdrawal from Iraq, Sadr continued to be an influential figure in Iraqi politics, associated with the Al-Ahrar bloc, whose Shi’a factions are still at war with not only the government but also the Sunni factions.

Detailed explanation-2: -A brash, little-known cleric who first emerged in 2003 in Najaf, Iraq’s center of Shiite theology, Sadr went on to become one of Washington’s most vexing enemies in Iraq. His militia, the Mahdi Army, fought against U.S. forces for years, killing hundreds of American soldiers.

Detailed explanation-3: -Moqtada al-Sadr has been a powerful figure in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Shia Muslim cleric rose to prominence after the US-led invasion, when his fearsome Mehdi Army militia fought foreign troops and was blamed for running sectarian “death squads".

Detailed explanation-4: -The Sadrist Movement (Arabic: al-Tayyār al-Sadri) is an Iraqi Islamic national movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr. The movement draws wide support from across Iraqi society and especially from the Shi’a poor in the country.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Mahdi Army, also known as the Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM), is a Shiite militia led by Muqtada al-Sadr. The group was founded in 2003, and it was considered one of the most dangerous groups in Iraq until early 2008.