August 30, 2007	Thursday	Sha'aban 16, 1428

NAJAF, Aug 29: Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his militia on Wednesday to stop attacks on US-led forces as part of a six-month suspension of the militant group’s activities.

The order came hours after fierce firefights left at least in 52 people dead in shrine city of Karbala on Tuesday in violence witnesses said involved policemen and suspected fighters from Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia.

Sadr aides have denied any involvement of his militants in the fighting that sent hundreds of thousands of pilgrims fleeing from Karbala and led embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to slap an indefinite curfew on the city.

“I direct the Mahdi Army to suspend all its activities for six months until it is restructured in a way that helps honour the principles for which it is formed,” Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the city of Najaf.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Shaibani, a Sadr aide who led a bloody rebellion against US forces in Najaf in 2004, said the suspension included a ban on any attacks on US-led forces.

“The suspension means that the Mahdi Army will stop all armed activities against the occupiers or any other groups,” he said. “The aim attempt is to reorganise the militia but not to dismantle it. It is also an effort to root out the rogue elements.”

In December, the Pentagon identified the militia as the biggest threat to stability in the war-ravaged country, even ahead of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Sadr responded by dropping out of sight and ordering his followers not to resist a joint US-Iraqi crackdown to restore stability to Baghdad, the epicentre of the communal bloodletting.

Most of his fighters are reported to have disappeared to avoid the military crackdown and taken shelter in the south of the country.

The militia has also suffered from allegations of being involved in clashes with rival Shia militias, particularly the Badr Corp, the military wing linked to Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, the party led by powerful politician Abdel Aziz al-Hakim.

Some also say the cleric is battling to retain his tenuous hold on his militia leaders, many of whom the American military believes have broken away from the main group.

Hundreds of Mahdi Army fighters have been killed or captured by the US military since the nationwide security assaults were launched earlier this year.

The US military claims that most of the targeted individuals from the militia are “rogue” elements who have broken away from the main faction.

It says these militants have formed special groups which are trained by Iranian-linked groups to kill US-led troops in Iraq. Tehran denies the charge.

Meanwhile, Maliki, who has come under fire from at home and abroad for failing to restore stability in Iraq, clamped a curfew on Karbala after Tuesday’s bloodletting.

He accused members of executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime of fomenting the violence but said Iraq’s security forces had now taken control of the city, still smouldering from a night of bitter fighting.

A correspondent said fighting which had raged from Tuesday afternoon finally died down early Wednesday but until the curfew came into force gunmen could still be seen in the streets brandishing their weapons.

National security advisor Muwafaq al-Rubaie acknowledged shortcomings in the response of the security forces but said army reinforcements had been sent.

While Maliki blamed Saddam loyalists, local officials said the Mahdi Army, which has estabished a stronghold in Karbala, was behind the fighting.

A security official said a senior Sadrist, Hamid Gannoosh had been arrested in Karbala on Wednesday for his alleged role in the violence.—AFP