Sadr talks Iraq in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria, July 20 (UPI) -- Syrian President Bashar Assad met Monday in Damascus with radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr to discuss the situation in Iraq following the U.S. troop drawdown.

American combat forces pulled back from Iraqi cities to their military bases June 30 under the provisions of a bilateral security agreement with Baghdad. Iraq has witnessed a spate of insurgent activity in the period surrounding the deadline, with bombings Monday killing as many as four people, including two police officers.

Salah al-Obeidi, the spokesman for the anti-American cleric, said the two leaders discussed the security situation in Iraq following the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces, while Assad stressed the need for Iraqi national unity, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting network reports.

Sadr had complained in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal that the Iraqi government was not serious enough about the troop drawdown, saying the Americans could still continue their foreign occupation of Iraq.

The Shiite cleric had offered sweeping condemnations of the U.S. strategy in Iraq, saying it was part of a colonial effort in the Middle East.

Sadr emerged from two years of religious studies in Iran to visit top leaders in Ankara on May 1, making his first public appearance in years.