Cleric Halts Attacks

Updated:15:51, Monday April 19, 2004

Radical Shia leader Moqtada al Sadr has ordered his followers to stop attacking Spanish troops in Iraq.

The move came after Spain said it would withdraw its troops from the country as soon as possible.

Moqtada al Sadr

"The attacks on Spanish troops should be stopped since they are returning to their country and as long as they don't carry out aggressions against the Iraqi people," a statement from al Sadr's office in the southern city of Najaf said.

In a sign of the worsening insurgency in Iraq, US overseer Paul Bremer has warned that Iraqi security forces would not be able to operate on their own after the scheduled June 30 handover of power.

He said Coalition forces would need to remain in Iraq to provide security.

But Prime Minister Tony Blair has vowed to stick to the deadline despite difficulties in training Iraqi security forces.

Speaking in Parliament, he said many living conditions in Iraq are already much better than they were under Saddam Hussein, but a "small minority" of extremists are trying to disrupt progress.

Earlier, the US army moved to reduce the size of the force it had built up outside Najaf.

The Americans are said to be prepared to wait before moving against Moqtada al Sadr, who is holed up in the city.

GIs on standby

Colonel Dana Pittard, commander of the 2,500-strong 3rd Brigade Task Force outside Najaf, said the force would be withdrawn over coming days.

It would be replaced by about 2,000 soldiers from the 1st Armoured Division.

The US military had earlier said it planned to kill or capture al Sadr, who is holed up in Najaf, and destroy his Mehdi Army militia.

But negotiations are under way through intermediaries to find a peaceful solution to the stand-off.

Iraqi clerics have warned that if US troops move into the holy city it could spark fury and cause a fresh eruption of unrest.

"Because of where negotiations are right now, we can wait," Col Pittard said. "We still want Iraqis to solve the problem."