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May 10, 2008

Iraqi Government Strikes Truce with Forces Loyal to Shi'ite Cleric 
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Aide to radical Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says agreement to take effect on Sunday 






Iraqi men examine the wreckage of a car destroyed during clashes in the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, 28 Apr 2008An aide to radical Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says the movement has reached a cease-fire with the government to end fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City.

The aide announced the truce Saturday in Najaf. Sheik Salah al-Obeidi says the agreement will take effect on Sunday.

Fighting in Sadr City has intensified since late March, when Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on Shi'ite militias loyal to the anti-American cleric. Hundreds of people have been killed.

In the latest violence, Iraqi medics in Sadr City say 13 people, including women and children, have been killed and 77 others wounded in clashes between U.S. forces and Shi'ite militias since Friday.

In other news, Iraqi military officials have announced the start of an offensive against al-Qaida in Iraq in the northern city of Mosul.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.



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