Iraq's Maliki Threatens to Bar Sadr from Politics

07 April 2008 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says the movement of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will be barred from taking part in the political process unless it disbands its Mahdi Army.

Mr. Maliki said in an interview broadcast on CNN Monday that participation in upcoming elections is also dependent on the disbanding of the Shi'ite militia.

U.S. Army Soldiers outside Sadr City, Iraq: U.S. Army Soldiers at Joint Security Station Oubaidy located just outside Sadr City, Iraq, after a series of rocket and mortar attacks. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason T. Bailey (CC)

Iraqi authorities say U.S. and Iraqi forces battled gunmen in Baghdad's Sadr City district Sunday, leaving at least 22 people dead.

The fighting erupted in a neighborhood where Sadr has armed loyalists. The cleric had called a cease-fire last week.

Officials say at least 78 people, including women and children, were wounded in Sunday's fighting.

Militants in Sadr City launched rockets or mortar shells into the heavily-fortified Green Zone in Baghdad during the clashes, killing at least two U.S. troops and wounding 17. The area houses Iraqi government and diplomatic headquarters.

The two top American officials in Iraq - General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker - are to brief the U.S. Congress Tuesday on the overall situation in Iraq and prospects for further reductions in the U.S. troop presence.

Source: VOA News