Militants hand over key shrine: Report

Militants loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said today they handed over the keys to – but not control of – a revered Muslim shrine to Shiite religious leaders.

The keys to the Imam Ali Shrine were handed over to representatives of Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, who is in a London hospital for treatment of a heart problem, said al-Sadr aide Ahmed al-Shaibany.