Radical cleric 'calls Iraq truce'

The radical young cleric is backed by thousands of armed militiamen

Rebel Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has called on his armed supporters across Iraq to observe a ceasefire, according to key aides.

However, a US spokesman in Baghdad said no ceasefire had been announced.

Mr Sadr's Mehdi Army militia has been involved in numerous clashes with US-led forces in Iraq in recent months.

A peace deal ended weeks of fighting in the city of Najaf last week, but sporadic fighting has continued elsewhere since then.

One of Mr Sadr's aides, Sheikh Ali Smeisim, told Lebanon's al-Manar television: "Due to the situation in Najaf and the provinces... we call on all members of the Mehdi Army to cease fire unless in self-defence, and to be patient until the political programme which Sadr's followers are planning is revealed."

Another aide, Sheikh Naim Kaabi, said: "He has called for a halting of all military operations in Iraq, and we are studying the idea of joining the political process."

Mr Sadr's aides also said he was also going to reveal plans to join the political process.

No confirmation

But speaking on the Arabic news channel al-Jazeera on Monday evening, a senior spokesman refused to be drawn on whether a ceasefire had actually been called.

A British source in the southern city of Basra, where Sadr supporters have also staged attacks in recent weeks, also said he was not aware of any truce.

The ceasefire announcement came as Mr Sadr's aides were trying to negotiate a peace agreement to end fighting between the Mehdi Army and US troops in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.

Iraq's interim government has repeatedly called on Mr Sadr and his followers to lay down their arms and join the country's political process.

It is not commenting on the latest ceasefire announcement, but if Mr Sadr is calling off his men, it will be welcomed by the interim administration, says the BBC's Matthew Price in Baghdad.