Followers of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr handed over to U.N. officials in Baghdad an American citizen they said had been held for nine months by the armed wing of their group. A U.S. Embassy spokesman confirmed that the man was an American citizen and had been transferred to the embassy. No further details were provided. A U.N. official confirmed that Maha al-Douri, a Sadrist member of the Iraqi parliament, and the deputy parliamentary speaker had released an American to the United Nations in Baghdad. Another Sadrist official who spoke on the condition of anonymity from the city of Najaf said the man had been arrested in the Sadr City area of Baghdad while conducting special operations.