January 5, 2012: People gather at the site of a bomb attack in Sadr city, eastern Baghdad. Two bombs exploded in a mainly Shi'ite Muslim area of Iraq's capital killing six people and wounding 17, police and hospital sources said. (Reuters)
BAGHDAD -- The top Iraqi official in charge of reconciling with the country's armed groups is welcoming a decision by an Iranian-backed Shiite militia to give up its weapons and support the political process.
Amir al-Khzaie, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's adviser for reconciliation, said Friday that the group, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, has not yet turned in its arms but says it is prepared to.
He says the group is ready to play a constructive role in Iraqi politics and hopes to run in the next parliamentary elections under a new name.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or Band of the Righteous, is an armed splinter group from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's own political movement that was formed to fight the American presence in Iraq.
U.S. troops completed their pullout last month.
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