Shiite leaders call on al-Sadr to leave

From Twin Cities

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Some of Iraq's most important Shiite Muslim leaders called Tuesday for Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his armed followers to abandon two holy cities they are using for sanctuary to avoid a potentially devastating U.S. attack.

The plea, which included a call for U.S. troops to remain outside the cities, represents the most public attempt to date by Iraq's mainstream Shiite leadership to resolve a 5-week-old standoff between al-Sadr and occupation officials. It comes at a time when U.S. officials are counting increasingly on Iraqis to assume responsibility for the country's security before sovereignty is handed them next month.

A 21-member committee of Shiite tribal, religious and political leaders hopes to broker a deal that would allow al-Sadr, who is wanted by U.S. authorities on murder charges, to leave Karbala and the city of Najaf, where he has hunkered down for several weeks. Najaf is home to the shrine of Ali, Iraq's holiest Shiite site, and recent fighting around the city between al-Sadr's militia and U.S. forces has placed it in jeopardy.