Is the Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army splintering?

The Associated Press is reporting that "Shiite militia may be disintegrating":

The violent Shiite militia known as the Mahdi Army is breaking into splinter groups, with up to 3,000 gunmen now financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, adding a potentially even more deadly element to Iraq's violent mix.

Hundreds of these fighters are alleged to have gone to Iran for training by the elite Quds force, a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. This is the same force that is believed to have trained Hezbollah as well as jihadists in Bosnia and Afghanistan.

Al-Sadr has not been seen in Iraq since early February. "Conditions are not suitable for him to return," one of his aides told the AP. "His safety will not be guaranteed if he returns."

According to the AP:

In recent weeks, Mahdi Army fighters who escaped possible arrest in the Baghdad security push have received $600 each upon reaching Iran. The former Mahdi Army militiamen working for the Revolutionary Guards operate under the cover a relief agency for Iraqi refugees, they said.

Once fighters defect, they receive a monthly stipend of $200, said the commanders.

Estimates of the strength of Mahdi Army fighters range between 10,000 and 60,000 men.

But as the AP observes, "Like many of Iraq's warring parties, it's a loosely knit force."