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Slogger contacts in the Sadr organization deny that the cleric has appeared in Karbala, and continue to insist that he is in Najaf.
In Karbala, Slogger sources were also unaware of any appearance by the cleric, which, they say, would not have gone unnoticed by the residents of the city.
IraqSlogger earlier reported on an unconfirmed report on the Sadrist website Nahrain Net, which said that Muqtada al-Sadr had appeared in Karbala yesterday before "hundreds" of supporters.
Slogger has contacted Nahrain Net regarding this matter and is waiting for a response.
Yesterday, Sadr's office in Najaf released a statement, reportedly from the cleric directly, which renewed his call for the American forces to leave Iraq, demanding "the departure of the occupier from beloved Iraq, so that we can live freely and securely in it," according to Aswat al-Iraq in Arabic.
The statement mentioned the occasion of Arba'in, and called on Iraqis to "raise their voices chanting 'No, no to America . . . No, no, to Israel . . . No, no, Satan!"
"God preserve Iraq and the Iraqis, and I ask God to unite you, and to banish away from you the specter of division and sectarian wars, and that you be one hand for the sake of God," the statement continues.
The statement also condemned the "terrorist" attacks against Shi'a pilgrims in Baghdad and Hilla which killed and wounded hundreds of faithful over the last few days, Aswat al-Iraq reports.
Karbala is preparing for the Shi'a holiday of Arba'in, the fortieth day after the anniversary of the death of Imam Husayn in Karbala in 680 AD, when many Shi'a faithful will make the pilgrimage to the revered city.
Muqtada al-Sadr, one of the most powerful men in Iraq, has been in hiding for weeks. He not made a confirmed public appearance since the beginning of the Baghdad security plan. Close Sadr aides insist that Sadr is in Najaf, while other unconfirmed reports have placed him in Iran or in southern Iraq.
