Al Maliki sets deadline for Al Sadr militia

Basra: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki ordered Shiite militia to surrender on Wednesday as his forces staged a crackdown on followers of a powerful cleric that threatened to wreck a truce credited with curbing violence.

Cleric Moqtada Al Sadr called for talks to end the fighting between government forces and his followers, the biggest operation that Iraqi forces have undertaken independently. Al Maliki, in Basra to oversee the campaign, said fighters would be spared if they surrendered within 72 hours.