Sources: Sadr, Sistani meet

Nouri al-Maliki, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, Moqtada al-Sadr,
Harith al-Dhari and Massoud Barzani

Grand Ayatollah Sistani

NAJAF, Iraq, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Radical young Shi'ite cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr met the reclusive spiritual leader of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al- Sistani, on Sunday, aides to Sadr said.

The reason for their first meeting in more than a year was not clear. The talks at Sistani's residence in the holy city of Najaf are part of delicate power relationships among the Islamist leaders of Iraq's now dominant Shi'ite majority, all of whom acknowledge Sistani's role as patron of their movement.

An aide to Sadr, Issam al-Moussawi, said the meeting was "cordial" and touched on "the security and political situation".

Sadr's political bloc is part of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's national unity government but has been boycotting cabinet and parliament for the past month in protest at Maliki's renewal of the U.N. mandate for the U.S. forces.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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