BAGHDAD, March 30: Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said on Sunday that he was pulling his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.

The Iraqi government quickly welcomed Sadr’s apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement sparked on Tuesday by operations against his backers in the southern city of Basra.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued a statement calling it “a step in the right direction.”

Sadr’s nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on mosques. It said the first point was: “Taking gunmen off the streets in Basra and elsewhere.”

He also demanded that the Iraqi government stop “haphazard raids” and release security detainees who haven’t been charged — the two issues cited by his movement as reasons for fighting the government.

Followers handed out sweets in Baghdad’s main Mahdi Army militia stronghold of Sadr City.Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh called it “positive and responsible,” in a telephone interview broadcast on Iraqi state TV. But he also warned that Iraqi security forces would continue to target those who didn’t follow the order.

“We expect a wide response to this call,” he said. “After this announcement, anybody who targets the government and its institutions will be regarded ... as outlaws.”

Scattered firing could be heard in central Baghdad hours after Sadr’s statement was released, and rockets or mortars were fired towards the US-protected Green Zone.

At least seven Iraqis were killed and 21 others wounded when two rounds apparently fell short, striking houses in the commercial district of Karradah, police said.

A US public address system in the Green Zone warned people to “duck and cover” and to stay away from windows.

Sadr’s decision came after Iraqi security forces faced fierce resistance to a crackdown against militia in Basra.

Dozens of Shia gunmen stormed a state TV facility in central Basra earlier on Sunday, forcing Iraqi troops guarding the building to flee and setting armoured vehicles on fire.

No casualties were reported but the attack illustrated the stark challenges facing Maliki’s government in the oil-rich area amid anger by Sadr’s followers over recent detentions and raids targeting his Mahdi Army militia.

In Baghdad, sporadic fighting was reported earlier on Sunday in the mainly Shia eastern half of the capital, but the streets were otherwise largely quiet after authorities indefinitely extended an around-the-clock curfew imposed on Thursday.

The strength of the resistance to the week-old offensive has taken the US-backed government by surprise, forcing it to come up with a new tactical plan targeting several Mahdi Army strongholds, a government official said.

The official, who was in Basra, said Maliki also had brought in reinforcements and appealed to local tribal leaders to help secure the area.—AP