Iraq’s Sadr loyalists withdraw from Baghdad neighborhoods

Fighters loyal to prominent Iraqi religious leader Moqtada al-Sadr have withdrawn from several neighborhoods across Baghdad where they were deployed following a spate of deadly bombings.

According to the reports, Witnesses said Sadr's Saraya al-Salam, or Peace Brigades, pulled out of the streets of Baghdad’s northeastern district of Sadr City early on Wednesday.

The cleric “ordered that no arm be displayed in public, avoid friction with the security forces and avoid being dragged into violence,” an aide close to Sadr said on condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, Sadr criticized the Iraqi government for security failures following a string of bombings in and around Baghdad, which have killed more than 200 people over the past week.

The attacks “are the clearest evidence that your government has become unable to protect and provide you with security,” the powerful Iraqi cleric said in a statement.

Following the attack, hundreds of fighters loyal to Sadr were reportedly deployed in Sadr City and five other Shia-dominated areas, which have borne the brunt of the recent violence.

On Wednesday, nine Iraqi soldiers were killed and as many others were wounded when a booby-trapped house blew up in the town of Latifiyah, about 40 km south of Baghdad.

Two Iraqi military sources said an army unit was responding to intelligence on a possible meeting of senior ISIL operatives at the house, when the explosion took place.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq says a total of 741 Iraqis were killed and 1,374 others injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in April.

SS