Here are a few developing stories coming out of Iraq this morning (or the weekend for those of us playing catchup).

It looks like the Iranians might have been behind the militants’ decision to cease organized fighting in the south of Iraq.

BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers traveled to the Iranian holy city of Qom over the weekend to win the support of the commander of Iran’s Qods brigades in persuading Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr to order his followers to stop military operations, members of the Iraqi parliament said.

Sadr ordered the halt on Sunday, and his Mahdi Army militia heeded the order in Baghdad, where the Iraqi government announced it would lift a 24-hour curfew starting early Monday in most parts of the capital.

But fighting continued in the oil hub of Basra, where a six-day-old government offensive against Shiite militias has had only limited gains.

So far, 488 people have been killed and more than 900 wounded in the offensive, Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said.

The backdrop to Sadr’s dramatic statement was a secret trip Friday by Iraqi lawmakers to Qom, Iran’s holy city and headquarters for the Iranian clergy who run the country.

There the Iraqi lawmakers held talks with Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Qods (Jerusalem) brigades of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and signed an agreement with Sadr, which formed the basis of his statement Sunday, members of parliament said.

You’ll remember the Qods force as Iran’s special forces division designated to carry out terrorism activities beyond Iran’s border. Are we seeing Iraqi politicin’ or another move in the international proxy war between radical Iran and the United States? Time will tell.

Sister Toldjah has some excellent links and resources to keep readers up to date on Iraq news and cut through the media confusion.

Right Wing Nut House has some analysis of our future in Iraq. Well worth the read.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 10:38 am and is filed under Foreign Policy, Iraq. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.