The judge, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity for security purposes, said in a telephone interview from his residence in the Green Zone that "elements of the Al-Mahdi Army have settled in the Green Zone as part of the force guarding former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. They therefore constitute part of the force protecting some officials in the Unified Iraqi Coalition which is led by Abdulaziz al-Hakim."