Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc announced Sunday it is ending its political boycott, some seven weeks after it started to protest the Iraqi prime minister's summit with President Bush.
According to the AP, the decision came as the cleric faces growing pressure to disarm his group. "We announce our return to parliament, we will attend today's session, and the ministers will resume their work to serve the people," said Bahaa al-Araji, one of 30 lawmakers loyal to al-Sadr.
He spoke during a news conference attended by Sunni parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani. Al-Sadr has 32 MPs in Iraq's 275-member parliament and six ministers.
