Bombings in Iraq Raise Specter of a Shiite Militia

Summary

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BAGHDAD -- In offering to help Iraqi security forces to fight insurgents after a wave of deadly bombings in the capital, an anti- American Shiite cleric is sending a clear signal to the government: If you don't protect us, we'll protect ourselves.

Muqtada al-Sadr's statement raised the fearful specter that he might be considering reactivating his once-powerful militia known as the Mahdi Army, a move that would play into al-Qaida in Iraq's efforts to spark sectarian war.

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Bombings in Iraq Raise Specter of a Shiite Militia

Al-Sadr's aides, however, insisted on Saturday that the cleric wasn't threatening to send armed men onto the streets but was offering to help the ...

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