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Faleh Hasan Shanshal, a political aide of Moqtadr al-Sadr, said on Friday: "We have asked al-Maliki to cancel his meeting with Bush as there is no reason to meet the criminal who is behind terrorism in Iraq.

"We will suspend our membership in parliament and the cabinet if he goes ahead."

Nuri al-Maliki, the Shia prime minister, is scheduled to meet with George Bush, the US president, in Jordan on November 29.

"This is a sign of an alliance between Saddamists, takfiris (Sunni extremists) and the occupation forces," the statement said.

Pull out threat


Moqtada al-Sadr, the young cleric whose Jaish al-Mahdi (Mahdi Army) militia dominates Sadr City, told chanting supporters in a Friday sermon that the most prominent religious figure from the Sunni group must issue an edict demanding an end to the killing of Shia Muslims.

The group demanded that the government "specify the nature of its relations with the occupation forces", and once again demanded a timetable for the withdrawal of US-led troops from Iraq.

It said the Shia bastion of Sadr City, the impoverished district where many Sadr followers are based, faces deadly insurgent attacks and repeated US raids.