The attacks occurred while residents of
Sadr City were commemorating the life of
Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr. Al-Sadr was killed by the former Iraqi regime of
Saddam Hussein in February 1999. On 16 November 2006, an arrest warrant for
Harith al-Dari, a prominent Sunni cleric, was issued in
Baghdad.
Moqtada al-Sadr, the son of Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and a controversial figure in his own right, called out on Friday for al-Dari to issue
fatwas prohibiting the killing of Shiites, membership in "
al Qaeda or any other organization that has made (Shiites) their enemies," and expressing support for the restoration of the
Imam Ali Shrine. When al-Dari has done this, Sadr says he will oppose the arrest warrant against him. == Perpetrators ==