New religious Sunni group declared in Iraq

An Iraqi soldier stands under a poster that reads ' terror has no religion' at a checkpoint in Basra today.

BASRA, Iraq, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A new religious Sunni organization has been announced in Iraq that calls for cooperation with the government to restore stability and unity.

The organization is calling itself the "Jamaat Ulema al-Janoub," which translates from Arabic to "Scholars Group of the South," according to its chief, Sheikh Khaled al-Mulla.

Al-Mulla, who is also a mosque cleric, said Thursday the group calls for "moderate political rhetoric, confronts terrorism and stands with the central government to achieve security, stability and unity."

He made his announcement in the first conference launching the group in the predominantly Shiite southern port city of Basra.

Al-Mulla said the organization consists of 500 Sunni scholars and clerics from across the country and has the approval of the Baghdad government and the Shiite religious authorities "to change the Iraqi reality and end this ordeal."

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