The Shite Slum in north Baghdad, home to 2 million urban poor, is the center of popular power for Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and a no go area for American troops. In May 2008 Sadr City was the center of intense fighting between American and Iraqi Army units and militants loyal to the cleric. Scores of homes were destroyed and many civilians lost their lives. But life does go on, and Sadr City has begun to rebuild and move on in relative peace. Currently, as part of a peace deal between the American Army and Iraq government with the militants, a separation wall has been built splitting the district between the North and South. The American Army Patrols a small patch of land on the south part of the wall, while the Iraqi Army patrols a small area in the North. Much of the city is still under control of the Militants.
