Rebel cleric turns to political fight

Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on his followers to end their uprising against US and Iraqi forces while he considers forming a political movement, senior al-Sadr officials said.

Al-Sadr has backed off other commitments in the past, but a truce would be a major victory for interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi by removing a serious insurgency and potentially bringing many of the Shiite cleric’s followers into the effort to build a peaceful democracy.