Al-Mahdi army starts handing over weapons

Al-Mahdi army which belongs to the Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sader started handing over its weapons in al-Sader city in the course of an agreement with the Iraqi government.

A spokesman for the US army said that two police centers in al-Jazaer and al-Hubeibeyah areas are exchanging the received weapons for money. According to an agreement proposed by al-Sader trend, it is expected the handing over operation will last for five days in exchange for releasing the detained and arrested of the group members with the exception of persons who committed criminal acts.

Meantime, a round of talks which was due on Sunday in Baghdad between Iraqi officials and representatives for the people of Falluja was postponed until before the elections of January, 2005.

The talks were due to be resumed later yesterday in a meeting between a delegation from the people of Falluja and the defense minister Hazem al-Shaar in order to put the final touches on the peace agreement between the two sides.

The Iraqi government announced, on behalf of its minister of state for security affairs Qasem Dawoud suspending air raids against the city for three days until the negotiations are finalized.