MyNorthwest

News

Opinion

Sports

Tools

Connect

EXPLAINER: What spurred the bloody armed clashes in Baghdad?

FILE - Supporters of Iran-backed Shiite Coordination Framework attend a rally to denounce their rivals, followers of an influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who stormed the parliament last month and have since been holding a sit-in outside the assembly building in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil, File)

FILE - Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans during an open-air Friday prayers in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 15, 2022. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr speaks during his first public appearance since returning from nearly four years of self-imposed exile in Najaf, south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File

FILE - Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gather during an open-air Friday prayers at Grand Festivities Square within the Green Zone, in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil, File)

FILE - Supporters of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, seen in a poster at left, burn an effigy representing former U.S. President George W. Bush in central Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 9, 2009, for a rally marking the sixth anniversary of the fall of the Iraqi capital to American troops. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)

FILE - Radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr speaks at a news conference in Najaf, 165 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Oct. 14, 2003. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Greg Baker, File)

FILE - An Iraqi sits between posters of prominent Shiite cleric Sheik Muqtada al-Sadr, left, and Imam Ali, the first Imam and cousin of prophet Muhammed during Friday prayers in the largest Shiite Muslim enclave in Baghdad, Friday Nov. 14, 2003. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. ( AP Photo/Samir Mizban, File)

FILE - Iraqi protesters use chains to try to remove concrete barriers on their way to the Parliament building in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, July 30, 2022 as thousands of followers of an influential Shiite cleric breached the building for the second time in a week to protest the government formation efforts lead by Iran-backed groups. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali, File)

FILE - An Iraqi boy peers through a destroyed wall with a painting of militant Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the Sadr City district in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 10, 2004. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

FILE - A Shiite woman, with a picture of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on her veil, is seen during a protest in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, March 27, 2008. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)

FILE - Followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr rest in the parliament building during a sit-in protest, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil, File)

FILE - Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr hold posters with his photo during a sit-in protest, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali, File)

FILE - A Shiite Muslim holds up a photo of Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr at a protest against U.S. troops Sunday, July 20, 2003, in the Muslim holy city of Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)

FILE - Muqtada al-Sadr is seen during prayers at the Al-Kufa Mosque Friday, July 18, 2003, in the holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Sadr is a populist cleric, who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion. (AP Photo/Wally Santana, File)

EXPLAINER: What spurred the bloody armed clashes in Baghdad?