With a start she realized that the Mahdi was speaking to her.

Hicks's head was cut off and taken to the mahdi.

They have been taken by the Mahdi as his concubines.

Suddenly the Mahdi opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

The book, if ever physical, did not survive, and was seen to be something that the Mahdi would reveal in the last days.

They had been parted for all the long weeks of the Mahdi's last illness.

He was amazed by the wisdom and perception of the Mahdi.

An open question is whether all the Mahdi fighters will obey orders not to fight.

Dozens of Mahdi fighters were killed or captured in the operation.

Gordon was killed around dawn fighting the warriors of the Mahdi.

What would happen to them when the Mahdi and his murderous army stormed into the city?

"They're really very dangerous people," he said of the Mahdi Army.

Even the more fanatical ones who regarded him as a mahdi began feeling uneasy.

Mr. Mahdi argued at the time that the form of the laws was too severe.

It is becoming routine for Mahdi fighters to stage attacks in other neighborhoods.

Ms. Mahdi said more than 70 percent of the government's share of oil profits is spent on defense.

The following day the Mahdi complained of insect bites.

Mr. Mahdi says he did not hesitate to answer.

Mr. Mahdi may look like a good bet for Washington.

Mr. Mahdi, the former presidential contender, said the government had about three months to pull things together.

Mr. Mahdi sees himself as a holy man, an intellectual and a politician.

Of course, it was to be regretted that their main customer was the Mahdi.

Whatever this says about the Mahdi Army, it was an instructive moment for me, as a reporter here.

"All thanks is due to Allah, who promised me these things," said the Mahdi.

He charged them in the name of Allah and the Mahdi to do their duty.