Militant leader freed in Iraq

BAGHDAD, March 22 (UPI) -- U.S. forces in Iraq have freed a top aide to rebel Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr after holding him for more than two years.

Ahmed Shibani was photographed with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after his release from U.S. custody, the BBC reported. The Iraqi government was thought to have helped broker Shibani's release.

U.S.-Iraq coalition leaders said in a statement that they believed Shibani "could play a potentially important role in helping to moderate extremism and foster reconciliation in Iraq," the BBC reported.

Shibani, a leader in Sadr's Mehdi Army, has been held since his capture two years ago in the mainly Shiite town of Najaf. The U.S. military described him at that time as a major security threat.

Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi told the BBC that the Iraqi government is talking to all insurgent groups but al-Qaida.