US vs. Jaysh-Al-Mahdi Army

US Forces vs. Jaysh-Al-Mahdi Army. The Mahdi Army, also known as the Mahdi Militia or Jaish al-Mahdi, was an Iraqi paramilitary force created by the Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003. The group rose to international prominence on April 18, 2004 when it spearheaded the first major armed confrontation against the U.S.-led occupation forces in Iraq from the Shia community in an uprising that followed the banning of al-Sadr's newspaper and attempts to arrest him, and lasted until a truce on June 6.