BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr extended his Mehdi Army militia ceasefire by around six months on Friday, according to a statement read out on his behalf in a mosque in Baghdad.
The move is likely to be widely welcomed by U.S. and Iraqiofficials, who say the initial six-month truce helped tosharply reduce violence in the country.