WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The United States said Thursday it would continue to support the interim Iraqi government in its efforts to disarm the Mahdi militia.
The militia, headed by a radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has entrenched itself in the holy city of Najaf, and is fighting U.S. and coalition forces.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi Thursday repeated his threat to storm Najaf if the militia does not surrender.
"It's unacceptable ... that groups such as these take over holy sites, fire on innocents and arrogate for themselves the power of the central government," U.S. State Department's deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told a briefing in Washington.
"Our role is to support (Allawi) and to support his colleagues as they assert their authority."
