BAGHDAD

Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced Thursday the freezing of all his armed factions across Iraq, except the northern province of Salah al-Din.

Saleh Mohamed al-Iraqi, a leader of the Sadr’s movement, said the influential cleric also “banned the use of weapons in all provinces except Salah al-Din and Samarra city.”

It was not yet clear why Salah al-Din province was not included in the ban.

The move comes amid rising tensions in Iraq over the failure of Shia political groups to agree on the formation of a new government in Iraq since last year’s parliamentary elections.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara