Sadr's militia will agree to truce if US forces leave Najaf base

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - Militia loyal to wanted Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr will stop attacking US forces if they withdrew from the coalition base outside this Shiite holy city, a Sadr spokesman said.

"We would comply with a ceasefire if they withdraw from their base at the Sadr teaching hospital," Sheikh Ahmed al-Shaibani told AFP after clashes around southern cities left 16 Iraqis and a coalition soldier dead Wednesday.

He said Sadr would also agree to the return of "Iraqi police with all its force into Najaf" and that his Mehdi Army militia would confine itself to its strongholds around the holy shrines of Najaf and Kufa.

Shaibani said he met on Tuesday with General Jawdat al-Obeidi, who heads the Iraqi Democratic Council party, and who he said has promised to relay the message to the US-led coalition.

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