Shia cleric freezes militia activities

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.

The aide, Sheikh Hazim al-Araji, said on Iraqi state television that the goal was to “rehabilitate” the organisation, which has reportedly broken into factions, some of which the US maintains are trained and supplied by Iran.