BAGHDAD, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Firebrand Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr announced Tuesday he will not run for political office under his own party, opting instead for an independent slate.

BAGHDAD, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Baghdad has no plans to protect the Sunni force, Sons of Iraq, and shuns any decision to merge the bulk of the force into the Iraqi army, officials said.

BAGHDAD, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr issued a decree stating only an elite force may carry arms while the rest of his supporters will advocate social awareness in Iraq.

KUFA, Iraq, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr issued a statement during Friday prayers calling on Iraqis to sign a blood oath of resistance against the U.S. occupation.

BAGHDAD, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr will transform itself into a social-services group, says a brochure obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

TEHRAN, July 18 (UPI) -- The Sadrist Movement of cleric Moqtada Sadr said it wants no connection with the Iraqi government and has no plans to return to Parliament, a spokesman said.

BAGHDAD, April 30 (UPI) -- The spokesman for Moqtada Sadr said the U.S. and Iraqi siege on Sadr City is an effort to eliminate the Sadrist bloc before the October provincial elections.

BASRA, Iraq, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- About 40 people were killed Friday in fighting between a radical Shiite fringe group and Iraqi forces as the Shiite Muslim festival of Ashura began.