Aide denies Sadr fled Iraq for Iran

BAGHDAD, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A senior aide to Iraq's Shiite political and militia leader Moqtada Sadr on Wednesday denied U.S. claims Sadr had fled to Iran fearing for his safety.

Nassar al-Rubaie told Kuwait's KUNA news agency in Baghdad reports Sadr had left two weeks ago in the face of a new military push to stabilize Baghdad.

"He is now inside Iraq and has left for nowhere," Rubaie said. "There is no need for an official statement or a press conference to make the denial."

Rubaie is the head of the Sadrist Parliamentary bloc and said there was no need for Sadr, who also heads the Mehdi militia, to flee.

"The security plan does not target us and we back it," he said. "We are now part of the political process."

One U.S. official told CNN recent raids parts of Baghdad had resulted in the arrests of some senior Sadr ministers -- one from the Ministry of Health, the other from the Ministry of Interior -- and Sadr feared he could be next.