Baghdad--Anti-US Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr offered to help the Iraqi government maintain security after bomb attacks against Shias killed 56 people in Baghdad in an apparent backlash by Sunni insurgents. Sadr's offer of the use of his paramilitary Mehdi Army late Friday was made at a sensitive time for Iraq following a March election that produced no clear winner and left a power vacuum for insurgents to exploit. Protracted talks on forming a government in 2006 led Iraq to the verge of sectarian civil war. The Shia Mehdi Army played a major role in violence against Sunnis during the conflict. Sadr had ordered his militia to lay down their weapons and turn to social work. But if the Mehdi Army is reactivated, it could raise tensions when Iraq's security situation is still fragile and US troops aim to withdraw by the end of 2011. "I offer my readiness to provide hundreds of believers...to be formal brigades in the Iraqi army or police to protect shrines, mosques, markets, houses and cities," Sadr said in statement. It was up to the government whether to accept the invitation or not, he said. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh declined to comment on Sadr's statement. The bloodshed that followed the 2003 US-led invasion has lessened but tensions were stoked by last month's election. The cross-sectarian Iraqiya alliance of former prime minister Iyad Allawi backed by Iraq's Sunni Arab minority won the most seats, coming just ahead of the mainly Shia State of Law coalition headed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Neither coalition won a majority in the 325-seat parliament. Sadr's party won some 40 seats in the election, making him a potential kingmaker in talks on forming a government. Sunnis dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein and their frustration at the ascendancy of Shias after the 2003 invasion helped fuel a fierce insurgency. Friday's blasts hit different areas of Baghdad, including Shia Muslims at midday prayer outside Sadr's main office. Officials said the attacks were aimed at stoking sectarian tensions and were in revenge for a series of recent blows against al-Qaeda in Iraq, including killing its two leaders. "We call on our people and (Iraq's) national patriotic political powers to adhere to national unity," Maliki said after Friday's attacks. Hakim al-Zamili, a senior member of Sadr's party, said the cleric's statement was an invitation to cooperate with the government rather than reactivating the Mehdi Army. "This is not an invitation to the Mehdi Army to take up arms," he said. Hameed Fadhel, an analyst at Baghdad University, said Sadr's statement was directed mainly at Maliki's government for its "failure to protect the people." Sadr opposes a second term for Maliki, who sent troops backed by US forces to crush the Mehdi Army in 2008. Adel Kadhim, an Iraqi political analyst, said Sadr's move showed he wants to use his political power instead of violence. "The rules of the game have changed, Sadr has learned from the lessons of the past," he said. "The Sunnis (and Sadr)... both realize they have a sole objective, which is not to see Mailki as the next prime minister." But Iraqi political analyst Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie said regardless of Sadr's statement, he sees more violence. "What I fear is the reaction of the man in the street," he said.
