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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced Wednesday his militia would leave the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, following a threat by the Iraqi government to "liberate" the holy site.
In a letter issued by al-Sadr's office in Baghdad and read to the Iraqi National Conference, the cleric said he agreed to demands made Tuesday night by a delegation from the conference that he and his forces leave the mosque, disband his Mehdi Army and "enter into the mainstream political process."
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Iraqi leaders attending the conference in Baghdad picked a 100-person council to advise and oversee the interim government, the caretaker body running Iraq until a transitional national assembly is elected in January.
The Iraqi Defense Ministry said late Wednesday it was surprised to hear of al-Sadr's apparent concession, since the cleric refused to meet with the eight-person delegation sent to Najaf in a bid to resolve the two-week standoff between militia fighters and U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces.
The delegation spent three hours at the Imam Ali mosque Tuesday night without seeing al-Sadr and returned to Baghdad early Wednesday. Peacemaking efforts over the weekend also failed.
The delegates did talk with some of the cleric's top deputies and presented them with a letter asking al-Sadr's militia to leave the shrine, dissolve itself and join the political process in Iraq.
"If we are surprised by this announcement, it's because the Iraqi government has done all it could to resolve this situation," the Defense Ministry said, reiterating its demand that al-Sadr's militia disarm.
"When that is done, all potential repercussions against Muqtada al-Sadr and his followers will be halted," a statement from the ministry said.
Al-Sadr had previously vowed to fight to his death.
Al-Sadr's letter to the national conference arrived shortly after Iraqi interim Defense Minister Hazem Sha'alan said the government had completed preparations for a military operation to "liberate the holy shrine" and regain Najaf "from the gang of mercenaries."
Sha'alan said in an interview with Arabic-language television network Al-Arabiya that Iraqi troops would enter the holy sites in Najaf in a swift operation and said he expected a "decisive battle."
"We will teach those people a lesson in their lives, which they will never forget," said Sha'alan, pointing to fighters in Najaf and in other key Iraqi cities.
Sha'alan later told reporters that al-Sadr's forces "have a chance during the coming hours to lay down their weapons and surrender."
Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi later issued a statement saying the government "will not stand with arms folded in the face" of the rebellion by al-Sadr's militia.
"The government's position is clear and specific to ending armed manifestations, stopping acts of sabotage and making the armed men leave Najaf and the mosque," Allawi said.
Fighting continued in Najaf overnight and throughout the day. Al-Sadr's militia fighters have launched "sporadic attacks" on 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit forces, which "remain in a defense posture" in the large cemetery near the mosque, a Marine spokeswoman said.
A boy was killed and two others were wounded Wednesday when mortar rounds struck a house near the city governor's office, police said. Police blamed the attacks on al-Sadr's militia.
In a letter issued by al-Sadr's office in Baghdad and read to the Iraqi National Conference, the cleric said he agreed to demands made Tuesday night by a delegation from the conference that he and his forces leave the mosque, disband his Mehdi Army and "enter into the mainstream political process."
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Iraqi leaders attending the conference in Baghdad picked a 100-person council to advise and oversee the interim government, the caretaker body running Iraq until a transitional national assembly is elected in January.
The Iraqi Defense Ministry said late Wednesday it was surprised to hear of al-Sadr's apparent concession, since the cleric refused to meet with the eight-person delegation sent to Najaf in a bid to resolve the two-week standoff between militia fighters and U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces.
The delegation spent three hours at the Imam Ali mosque Tuesday night without seeing al-Sadr and returned to Baghdad early Wednesday. Peacemaking efforts over the weekend also failed.
The delegates did talk with some of the cleric's top deputies and presented them with a letter asking al-Sadr's militia to leave the shrine, dissolve itself and join the political process in Iraq.
"If we are surprised by this announcement, it's because the Iraqi government has done all it could to resolve this situation," the Defense Ministry said, reiterating its demand that al-Sadr's militia disarm.
"When that is done, all potential repercussions against Muqtada al-Sadr and his followers will be halted," a statement from the ministry said.
Al-Sadr had previously vowed to fight to his death.
Al-Sadr's letter to the national conference arrived shortly after Iraqi interim Defense Minister Hazem Sha'alan said the government had completed preparations for a military operation to "liberate the holy shrine" and regain Najaf "from the gang of mercenaries."
Sha'alan said in an interview with Arabic-language television network Al-Arabiya that Iraqi troops would enter the holy sites in Najaf in a swift operation and said he expected a "decisive battle."
"We will teach those people a lesson in their lives, which they will never forget," said Sha'alan, pointing to fighters in Najaf and in other key Iraqi cities.
Sha'alan later told reporters that al-Sadr's forces "have a chance during the coming hours to lay down their weapons and surrender."
Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi later issued a statement saying the government "will not stand with arms folded in the face" of the rebellion by al-Sadr's militia.
"The government's position is clear and specific to ending armed manifestations, stopping acts of sabotage and making the armed men leave Najaf and the mosque," Allawi said.
Fighting continued in Najaf overnight and throughout the day. Al-Sadr's militia fighters have launched "sporadic attacks" on 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit forces, which "remain in a defense posture" in the large cemetery near the mosque, a Marine spokeswoman said.
A boy was killed and two others were wounded Wednesday when mortar rounds struck a house near the city governor's office, police said. Police blamed the attacks on al-Sadr's militia.
