Things are suddenly heating up. It appears that a full-on Shia revolt has started, concentrated heavily in the former British occupied oil port city of Bara, as well as Sadr City in Baghdad. Central government forces have given Shia militias and gangs 72 hours to lay down their weapons or face a major offensive. The prime minister himself is in Basra commanding the action. Moqtada al-Sadr, wildcard commander of the Mahdi Army, has ordered the prime minister out of the city. Hospital sources put the total death toll at 40 and the number of wounded at 200 in the past 24 hours of fighting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTN687nDPtg
http://debka.com/headline.php?hid=5142

This sounds ominous from a source on the ground there:

Just reported from Alwasatonline reporter in Basra, Mahdi Army managed to arrest 17 American soldiers, and seizes 7 hammer military vehicles, because of these developments the Iraqi government offered to negotiates with MA but Muqtada Al-Sadr refused any negotiations, also 250 Iraqi soldiers gave themselves up to Mahdi Army.

Key bridge, connecting Basra city to Al-Kurnah is destroyed by Mahdi Army.

Sotaliraq reported that Maliki refused to meet Basra's mayor "Mohammad Al-Walili [from Al-Fadhilah Party], the mayor threaten if he removed from his position as mayor he will burn all the oil wells around Basra.

There is also reports about American warplanes involvement in the fights, and the Green Zone was bombed again at 8 O'clock p.

There are fighting in Al-Shurta neighborhood in Baghdad in the Karkh part

http://www.roadstoiraq.com/2008/03/25/news-mahdi-army-arrested-17-americ...