Sadr offers to disband Mehdi Army

BAGHDAD, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Militant Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr says he'll disband his Mehdi Army militia if the United States agrees to a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.

Sadr made the offer Friday in Baghdad through his spokesman, Salah Obaidi, The Washington Post reported. Obaidi said Sadr has already ordered the Mehdi Army to stop fighting while U.S. and Iraqi negotiators hammer out an agreement on withdrawal timetable, and further said the paramilitary force would be disbanded if a final agreement is reached, the newspaper said.

"If there will be a serious decision to end the occupation of Iraq, those cells will vanish," he told reporters. "There will be no reason to let those cells stay and work."

"We welcome this announcement that appears to be an effort to help the Iraqi people," U.S. military spokesman Col. Jerry O'Hara told the Post, adding, "The proof is always in the actions and not just the words."