Finish the Job

One step closer to martyrdom:

Shiite rebel leader and cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was wounded Friday in a battle with U.S. and Iraqi forces.

That’s according to spokesmen for al-Sadr, who deny knowing whether the Iraqi rebel leader is holed up – along with his followers – in the Najaf compound housing the Imam Ali shrine. Al-Sadr has led an uprising against coalition troops for more than a week in the city, vowing to fight “until the last drop of my blood has been spilled.”

Al-Sadr was injured as he was met with members of his Mahdi Army militia, near the Imam Ali shrine on Friday morning, said Haider al-Tousi, an al-Sadr aide.

He was hit with shrapnel in the chest and twice in a leg, al-Tousi said.