A look at Baghdad slum of Sadr City

_ Sadr City is an overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim northeast Baghdad community of some 2.5 million people, and a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia blamed for much of the sectarian killing in the Iraqi capital.

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HISTORY

The community was built around 1960 to provide housing for Baghdad's largely Shiite urban poor, many of whom drifted to the capital from southern Iraq. It was named Revolution City and later Saddam City after the late president took power in 1979. After Saddam's ouster in 2003, it became known as Sadr City after Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, who was killed, probably by Saddam's agents, in 1999. His son is Muqtada al-Sadr, who commands the Mahdi Army.

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LIFE

Sadr City, one of Baghdad's poorest areas, suffers from rampant unemployment and ailing infrastructure. The area lacks many basic services. Electricity is available for only about two hours a day, and some streets frequently flood with sewage. Municipal garbage collection service halted in 2003, but some neighborhood self-help groups now perform the task. The district's main landmark is a giant municipal building commissioned by Saddam, who gave a single speech from its balcony and never returned to the neighborhood again.

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VIOLENCE

_ April 4, 2004 _ Gunmen ambush a U.S. patrol and eight soldiers are killed, including Spc. Casey Sheehan, son of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. At the time, the battle was the biggest in the capital since the fall of Saddam's regime in April 2003. U.S. authorities issue a warrant the next day for al-Sadr's arrest, triggering two major uprisings against U.S.-led coalition forces.

_ Oct. 2004 _ Al-Sadr accepts a cease-fire to end the second uprising. But sporadic fighting persists for several weeks in Sadr City until al-Sadr agrees to participate in the Jan. 2005 election.

_ Feb. 22, 2006 _ Angry crowds assemble in front of al-Sadr's office in Sadr City after hearing that bombs had destroyed a major Shiite shrine 100 miles to the north. Armed gangs fanned out across the city, attacking Sunni mosques and igniting a firestorm of sectarian retribution.

_ Nov. 23, 2006 _ A series of car bombs and mortar attacks by suspected al-Qaida in Iraq fighters kill at least 215 people.