NAJAF, Iraq, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, after meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said top Iraqi clerics do not plan to replace Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

NAJAF, Iraq, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Shiite clerics in Iraq find their power waning following their role in establishing a government led by Shiite parties after the U.S. invasion in 2003.

BAGHDAD, June 6 (UPI) -- Car bombs killed at least seven people and wounded 27 Wednesday in the Iraqi town of Kazimiya and police defused three booby-trapped cars in Beirut. In Falluja, a bomb at a crowded market killed at least 19 and injured 25 others and six Iraqi police offic

NAJAF, Iraq, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- The major weekend military offensive Iraqi and U.S. troops staged in Najaf uncovered a cult that was reportedly planning to assassinate senior Shiite clerics.

BAGHDAD, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Three bombings in Baghdad killed five people Monday and the insurgent death toll in Najaf was estimated at 300 from weekend fighting.

BAGHDAD, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Delegates from Iraq's governing Shiite coalition have appealed to an ayatollah and radical militant cleric to shore up the faltering government.

BAGHDAD, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- A U.S.-backed Baghdad coalition of Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties is gaining more favor with Iraq's most revered and influential Shiite clerics.

BAGHDAD, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with two top Shiite leaders for help to quell the growing sectarian violence but may not have gotten much.

NAJAF, Iraq, May 28 (UPI) -- Iran and Iraq have agreed to unite against "saboteurs" crossing their 700-mile border in an effort to increase the security of both countries.