Iraq’s fiercely anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Sunday called on his followers to suspend attacks against US troops to ensure they leave Iraq by the year-end deadline. But the Shi’ite cleric, whose Mehdi Army militia fought US forces until 2008, warned that if they did not depart on time, military operations would resume and be “very severe”. “Because of my eagerness to accomplish the independence of Iraq and have the invader forces withdraw from our holy land, it has become imperative for me to stop military operations … until the invader forces complete their withdrawal,” Sadr said in a statement read out by his spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi. “If not, the military operation will start again and with new approaches, and it will be very severe.” American troops are scheduled to withdraw fully by December 31, more than eight years after the 2003 invasion, but Iraq’s leaders are currently negotiating with the United States on whether to retain U.S. military trainers beyond 2011.