Iraqi militias pledge to disarm if US confirms a withdrawal date

Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said yesterday he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops is not established.

The statement — read yesterday to worshippers during prayers in Baghdad’s former militia stronghold of Sadr City — is in line with details revealed earlier this week and appears to be an extension of plans he announced in June aimed at asserting more control over the militia.

“Weapons are to be exclusively in the hands of one group, the resistance group,” while another group called Momahidoun is to focus on social, religious and community work, Sadrist cleric Mudhafar al-Moussawi said.