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ReutersBAGHDAD, June 13 (Reuters) - The political bloc of fiery Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday suspended its participation in parliament in response to the bombing of a revered Shi'ite shrine in the city of Samarra
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Iraq Sadrists suspend parliamentary participation
Reuters - 17 minutes agoBAGHDAD (Reuters) - The political bloc of fiery Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday suspended its participation in parliament in response to the bombing of a revered Shi'ite shrine in the city of Samarra, a leader of the movement said.
The movement, with 30 legislators, holds a quarter of the seats in the ruling Shi'ite Alliance of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The Sadrists pulled out of Maliki's government in April over the prime minister's refusal to set a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq.
Nassar al-Rubaie, head of the bloc, said on Wednesday the movement was taking this latest action largely because of the destruction of the two minarets at the Golden Mosque in Samarra.
"We (also) decided to suspend our membership inside parliament until the government starts the reconstruction of all the Shi'ite and Sunni mosques," he told Reuters, referring to places of worship attacked during four years of conflict in Iraq.
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