1. Mahdi, 56, had been imprisoned and then under house arrest since his civilian government was overthrown in June 1989.

2. Mahdi denies that his movement wants weapons or financing from Washington, saying moral support and diplomatic pressure are enough.

3. Imams or Christs, Mahdis or Messiahs were there to cancel all debts, atone for all insults.

4. When they arrived, they were told that Mahdi was down with the flu.

4. Wish you will love and make progress everyday!

5. A machine gun obtained by Mahdi forces , now exhibiting in Al Khalifa Museum.

6. Sadr's Mahdi Army fighters had taken over the city and were using the Imam Ali shrine, one of the holiest sites for Shiites, as a base of operations.

7. Mahdi Army militiamen are seen on the outskirts of Baghdad's Sadr City last month.

8. He may also have to promise to lay off Mahdi Army.

9. Signs of the purge dot the sewer - filled streets of Sadr City , which the Mahdi Army controls.

10. And in his diaries Gordon, a very devout Christian, had no doubt that the Mahdi and his men were overexcited natives hell-bent on destroying the civilised world.

11. Did I get my head lopped off by one of those Mahdi savages?

12. This was the first time the prime minister singled out al - Sadr's Mahdi Army.