US military commanders in Iraq claimed yesterday that Moqtada al-Sadr, the controversial Shia cleric, had fled to Iran, prompting immediate denials from his followers.

The dispute comes after weeks of rumours in the Iraqi media that Hojatoleslam al-Sadr and senior commanders in his Mahdi Army militia have gone to ground before the long-awaited Baghdad security crackdown.

It also comes as America attempts to highlight what it claims is Iranian backing of Shia insurgents in Iraq.

Major General William Caldwell, the US-led coalition’s spokesman, said that Hojatoleslam al-Sadr, who provided an anti-US rallying point for Shia radicals, was no longer in Iraq.

“We know he is not in the country and all indications are in fact that he is in Iran, and left some time last month,” he said.

“We obviously track Moqtada al-Sadr very closely but obviously the rationale and reasons behind why he might not be here right now we are not prepared to talk publicly about. We have our own suppositions as to why at this point, and are tracking different means of intelligence and information.”

If true, the accusation would be damaging for Hojatoleslam al-Sadr, who has long capitalised on the fact that unlike other Shia leaders he never fled Iraq during Saddam’s oppressive rule. Saleh al-Ukaili, a spokesman for the Sadrists, said the US claim was part of a “psychological war” to force the Mahdi Army leader into the open. “The leadership of Moqtada al-Sadr is a brave one and will not leave the field,” he said. However, neither side presented evidence.

The dispute coincided with US officials unveiling the official name of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Baghdad operation, ’Fahd al-Qanoon (Imposing Justice), in Arabic, although US officials call it Operation Law and Order.

US and Iraqi units stepped up operations on the ground as Mr al-Maliki — after a series of semiofficial announcements — finally decreed: “We have started today the new security plan. And we warn everyone who runs against it. Now we are ready to impose law on all those who want to continue with rebellion.” However, US commanders have urged patience, pointing out that the five extra US combat brigades will not arrive until the end of May, and that three brigades of Iraqi reinforcements will not be in place for another 30 days.

Amid mounting impatience among Iraqis for an end to the violence, a senior US official admitted this week that most of the American reconstruction that was hailed as an integral part of the crackdown will not arrive for months.

Rick Olson, director of the National Coordination Team, confirmed that 40 members of the new provincial reconstruction teams to be “embedded” with fighting units would be in place by March 31, another 150 by August 31 and the last 150 “by the end of 2007”.

The US confirmed last night that a Marine Ch46 Sea Knight transport helicopter that crashed in Iraq last week was brought down by a “sophisticated piece of weaponry”.

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