Al-Sadr returns to Iraq after hiding in Iran for four months

Al-Sadr makes public appearance in Iraq

By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer 55 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr appeared in public for the first time in months on Friday, delivering a fiery anti-American sermon to thousands of followers and demanding U.S. troops leave Iraq.

The U.S. military also announced that six U.S. soldiers were killed in a series of attacks across Iraq in recent days. The deaths put May on pace to be one of the deadliest months for U.S. forces here in years.

Military officials have warned that U.S. casualties were likely to rise as more troops deployed to Iraq and the military pushed ahead with its Baghdad security crackdown.

"As we are conducting more operations, we are going into areas we haven't gone into in force before. We have more people on the ground, this leads to an opportunity for more contact, more conflict, more clashes," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman. "This is a tough fight. We are in a war."

In Washington, the Democratic-controlled Congress grudgingly approved fresh billions for the Iraq war, minus the troop withdrawal timeline that drew
President Bush's earlier veto. Bush warned that August could prove to be a bloody month for U.S. troops and said: "The Iraqi government needs to show real progress in return for America's continued support and sacrifice."

Al-Sadr had gone into hiding in Iran four months ago at the start of the U.S.-led Baghdad security crackdown. It was not immediately clear why he chose to return now to his base in the Shiite holy city of Najaf.

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