could it be?.......................naaah,not again.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fled Iraq for
Iran ahead of a security crackdown in Baghdad and the arrival of 21,500
U.S. troops sent by President Bush to quell sectarian violence, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.
 

 

Al-Sadr left his Baghdad stronghold some weeks ago, the official said,
and is believed to be in Tehran, where he has family. 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, the official said.
 

 

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.
 

 

Interesting timing for a leak...