Some Mahdis Going Freelance

The Madhi Army is letting loose. Officially locked down by leader Moqtada al-Sadr during the troop surge, renegade Mahdis are unleashing a wave of random violence on once-peaceful areas of central and southern Iraq, Newseek reports. That worries even al-Sadr's commanders, who are now seeking U.S. help to control their wayward acolytes.

The Army's undisciplined spread has provoked internecine fighting in areas controlled by other Shiite militias. Even more troubling is a potential anti-American alliance with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. But al-Sadr himself may have the most to lose. "If you love the Sadr movement," he told his followers, "then listen and obey." (More Muqtada al-Sadr stories.)