Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr issued a “final warning” to the Iraqi government to halt the US-Iraqi crackdown against his followers or he would declare “open war until liberation”.

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr tonight threatened a new uprising if a US-Iraqi crackdown against his followers continues.

Iraq’s prime minister insisted today that the week-long attempted crackdown against militia in Basra had been a “success,” despite the violent backlash it produced.

Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone came under renewed attack today, less than 24 hours after anti-Western Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr told his forces to stand down following a week of clashes with government security forces.

Iraqi forces clashed with Shiite militias in the southern oil port of Basra today as a security plan to clamp down on violence between rival militia factions in the region began.

Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced today that he will order his Shiite Mahdi Army to continue its ceasefire by another six months, giving Iraq a chance to continue its fragile recovery.

A women wearing a suicide vest blew herself up near a popular market and a Shiite mosque in restive Diyala province north of the capital Baghdad today, killing eight civilians and wounding seven others, police said.

US and Iraqi forces, backed by Polish army helicopters, swept through Shiite militia strongholds south of Baghdad, rounding up dozens of militants and killing two.

A roadside bomb rocked an eastern Baghdad Shiite neighbourhood this morning, killing at least 13 people and injuring 25 others when it exploded next to buses used by morning commuters, police and hospital officials said.

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered a six-month suspension of activities by his Mahdi Army militia in order to reorganise the force, an aide said today.

American troops battled with Shiite gunmen today in Baghdad, killing at least eight in pre-dawn fighting, the US military said.

A majority of Iraqi politicians have signed draft legislation that calls for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.

Cabinet ministers loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will withdraw from the Iraqi government later today, the head of his parliamentary bloc said.

Tens of thousands draped themselves in Iraqi flags and marched peacefully through the streets of two Shiite holy cities today, the fourth anniversary of Baghdad’s fall.

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr today issued a statement calling on his supporters to resist US forces in Iraq, and a local militia commander blamed an attack against the mayor of Sadr City on a faction unhappy about cooperation with Americans.

Key US and Iraqi officials today issued cautiously optimistic reports one month into the latest drive to curb sectarian bloodshed in Baghdad but warned that months would pass before the operation could be labelled a success.

The chief US military spokesman in Iraq today insisted that Muqtada al-Sadr has left the country and is believed to be in Iran, despite denials from the radical Shiite cleric’s supporters.

Iraqi forces today detained a senior Health Ministry official accused of corruption and helping to funnel millions of pounds to Shiite militiamen blamed for much of the recent sectarian violence in the capital, the US military said.

Two bombs exploded seconds apart in a predominantly Shiite commercial area in central Baghdad today, killing at least 78 people and wounding at least 156, said Iraqi police and Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili.

Radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr today announced his followers were returning to the political fold in an apparent bid to regain legislative influence ahead of a planned security crackdown.

Iraqi cabinet ministers and legislators loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr were instructed to end their six-week boycott of the political process, a parliamentarian in the political block said today.

A string of car bombs and other blasts killed at least 54 Iraqis on yesterday, including 17 outside Baghdad’s most venerated Sunni mosque.

Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has agreed to allow supporters to rejoin the Iraqi government after a three-week boycott, officials close to the militia leader said, as political rivals pushed to form a coalition without him.

Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has reportedly agreed to allow supporters to rejoin the Iraqi government after a three-week boycott.

Followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr today warned they will suspend their membership in parliament and the Iraqi Cabinet if prime minister Nouri Maliki meets US president George Bush in Jordan next week, a member of parliament said.

Police in Iraq today confirmed the kidnapping of more than 40 Shiites along a notoriously dangerous road just north of Baghdad.

THE Shi’ite militia run by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr seized control of a southern Iraqi city yesterday in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by the country’s powerful, unofficial armies.

The Shiite militia run by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr seized control of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah today in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by the country’s powerful, unofficial armies, witnesses and police said.

Two near simultaneous explosions in north-eastern Baghdad today killed three people and wounded 16, a day after the defence ministry said security forces would expand a crackdown into the eastern parts of the capital, including Shiite militia strongholds.

The top US general in Iraq today said Iraqi forces should be able to take over security with little coalition support as early as next year, even as a bombing at a Baghdad market killed at least 24 people and dozens of others were slain around the country.

Shiite militiamen drove back Iraqi forces in a city south of Baghdad today in fierce street fighting that killed 40 people.

Iraq’s prime minister sharply criticised a US-Iraqi attack on a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad, exposing a rift with his American partners on security tactics, as 24 people were killed today in a series of bombings and shooting.

Iraqi and US forces raided a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad today, triggering a gunbattle that left three people dead, while 12 others were killed elsewhere.

Thousands of Shiite youths, some armed, headed into Iraq’s capital Baghdad today for a pro-Hezbollah rally as skirmishes erupted with US troops that left at least three people dead, officials said. Fifteen rally-goers were wounded in a bus bombing.

A suicide car bomber detonated explosives among a crowd of labourers across the street from a major Shiite shrine in southern Iraq today, killing 53 people and wounding 105.

A suicide car bomber detonated explosives among a crowd of labourers across the street from a major Shiite shrine in southern Iraq today, killing 43 people and wounding 64.

Early-morning bombings - including a blast that killed six when it struck a minivan of workers in southern Baghdad - continued today as US and Iraqi officials promised a crackdown on violence and sectarian attacks.

Two car bombs rocked northern Baghdad neighbourhoods today while another struck a Shiite holy city, in attacks that left at least 16 dead and 49 wounded, police and provincial officials said.

A BOMB hidden in a minibus exploded near the offices of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in eastern Baghdad yesterday, killing two Iraqi civilians and wounding three, police said.

A BOMB hidden in a minibus exploded near the offices of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in eastern Baghdad yesterday, killing two Iraqi civilians and wounding three, police said.

SHI’ITE politicians failed yesterday to resolve the deadlock over their candidate for prime minister, which is blocking formation of a new government.

A 13-YEAR-OLD boy was killed by a roadside bomb as he walked to school in the southern city of Basra, one of more than 20 victims of violence that continued to rattle Iraq yesterday as political leaders remained deadlocked over a new government.

Iraq’s president today said he would call the country’s new parliament into session for the first time on Sunday, starting the clock on a 60-day period during which the legislature must elect a new head of state and sign off on a prime minister and Cabinet.

At least two Iraqis claiming to have been beaten by British soldiers during a 2004 demonstration today said that they would take legal action against the British military and seek compensation.