Moktada al-Sadr's Shi'ite militia, the Mahdi Army, is breaking into splinter groups, with up to 3,000 gunmen financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the militant cleric, Iraqi and US officials say. Two senior Mahdi Army commanders also told the AP that hundreds of breakaway fighters have crossed into Iran in the past 18 months for training by the elite Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard thought to have trained Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and Muslim fighters in Bosnia and Afghanistan.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, joined by MPs, military chiefs and diplomats, say up to 3,800 PKK fighters in Iraqi Kurdistan are preparing for attacks into Turkish territory—and Turkey is ready to hit back if the US fails to act. Said Gul: "We will do what we have to do, we will do what is necessary. Nothing is ruled out. I have said to the Americans many times: suppose there is a terrorist organisation in Mexico attacking America. What would you do?... We are hopeful. We have high expectations. But we cannot just wait forever."

British authorities have arrested three men in connection with the July 7, 2005 London bombings that killed 52. Police say they have long suspected that others were involved in the attack besides the four suicide bombers. Two of the suspects were arrested at Manchester airport en route to Pakistan, while another was detained in a raid on a house in Leeds. (Madrid11, March 23)

From the UK Press Association, March 23:

Fifteen Royal Navy sailors have been seized by Iranian warships in Iraqi territorial waters, the Ministry of Defence said.

The Somali government says al-Qaeda has appointed a young militant as its commander of the resistance forces in Mogadishu. Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle told a news conference the insurgency is being directed by Aden Hashi Ayro, an Afghanistan-trained fighter in his 30s. "The government is being targeted by those who used to work with terrorists, the so-called Islamic Courts," Jelle said. "And after they had a long consultation with al-Qaeda, they named Aden Hashi Ayro as head of (al Qaeda) operations in Mogadishu."

From the British computer trade journal The Register, March 22:

US Marines in Iraq staged an elaborate fake gunfight to foil an overhead surveillance drone and cover up a murder, according to court testimony.

From the St. Petersburg Times, March 20:

Al-Arian's gaunt condition stuns his family
Sami Al-Arian has been on a hunger strike for 58 days to protest being held beyond his prison sentence. On a water-only diet, he has lost 53 pounds. The former University of South Florida professor can no longer walk, speaks in a whisper and trembles constantly because of low body temperature, said family members who visited him last weekend at a federal medical prison in Butner, N.C.

In a military trial at Fort Campbell, KY, Pfc. Bryan Howard, 19, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the slaying of her family. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice by lying to his superior officers about the attack last year in Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad. Howard agreed to five years in prison under a plea deal but will not serve more than 27 months if he follows conditions of the agreement. Under the agreement, his rank will be reduced to private and he will be dishonorably discharged. He will also have to testify against others charged in the case.