Mehdi army to stand down in Iraq

Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has announced his Mehdi militia will henceforth observe an indefinite ceasefire. Last year al-Sadr ordered the first six-month ceasefire, which he subsequently renewed, but this is the first indication he may be preparing to change tactics from building a primarily military organisation to a more social one, along the lines of Hamas. Earlier this month he said the militia... [read full story]