US forces and militiamen loyal to rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have agreed to withdraw from the embattled holy city of Karbala.
Witnesses said there were no combatants in the city after heavy fighting yesterday.
Officials in the Karbala office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, Iraq's most prominent Shiite cleric, confirmed that a deal was reached for the adversaries to stop fighting.
The representatives of al-Sadr and al-Sistani declined to give their names.
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There was no immediate comment from the US military.
PA