In the months leading up to the January 2005 Iraqi elections, the Mahdi Army kept a relatively low profile as the majority of terrorist operations in Iraq were carried out by Sunni terrorists of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's network. Al-Sadr's group boycotted the elections but did not actively try to disrupt them. A fellow Shi'ite, the moderate Ibrahim al-Jaafari, stood to become the new Iraqi prime minister as his United Iraqi Alliance list gained the most number of votes in the elections. Despite al-Sadr's boycott of the elections, there have been recent discussions on integrating his followers into the new Iraqi government. Suspicion remains, however, that al-Sadr and his group have already infiltrated the newly-formed Iraqi political system and are planning an eventual Iranian-backed takeover of the Shi'ite heartland of southern Iraq.

The Mahir &#199;ayan Suicide Group claimed responsibility for a small explosion in the garden of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on March 10th, 1975. No one was injured and no serious damage was done. The Mahir &#199;ayan Suicide Group claimed responsibility for no other attacks, although a series of similar incidents occurred in Istanbul about 18 months later. On November 6th, 1976, four small bombs exploded in four different locations: an Iranian business, the Egyptian Consulate, a Dutch business, and an office of El Al airlines (one person was injured at the El Al office). An unnamed group claiming to be supporters of Mahir &#199;ayan claimed responsibility. It is unknown if these two incidents were related. However, similarities in tactics and target selection, as well as the reference to Mahir &#199;ayan, suggest that it is a possibility. <P><br /><br />The name Mahir &#199;ayan Suicide Group aligns the bombers with left-wing Turkish terrorist Mahir &#199;ayan. &#199;ayan was the founder of the Turkish People's Liberation Front (THKP-C) in the late 1960s or early 1970s. While &#199;ayan led the group, it was best known for kidnapping and murdering an Israeli diplomat, Ephraim Elrom, in 1971. &#199;ayan was killed in a shoot-out on March 30th, 1972. <P><br /><br />It is unknown what connection the alleged Mahir &#199;ayan Suicide Group had to the THKP-C. However, the amateurish nature of the group's single claimed attack suggests that they were admirers rather than group members. Although the name could be a front for the THKP-C or one of its several splinters, it is highly unlikely that the perpetrators of the U.S. Consulate incident were serious terrorists. <P><br />