BAGHDAD — Aides to Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr cast doubt Wednesday on his commitment to extending a six-month cease-fire that expires this month, saying U.S. and Iraqi forces had not necessarily earned Sadr's continued cooperation.
The comments raised the specter of a return to sectarian violence and an upsurge in attacks on U.S. forces at an especially delicate time in the war. The United States is in the process of drawing down the additional 28,500 soldiers it deployed last year and has banked on a continuation of Sadr's cease-fire to help keep the peace as American troops depart.
But Sadr loyalists have said their foes are taking advantage of the cease-fire to try to crush the movement politically and militarily.
"We have made more than one gesture. . . . However, we haven't received any help from the government," said Ghufran Saidi, a lawmaker in the Sadr bloc. "The aim is to eliminate the Sadr movement in all provinces."
Sadr, a fierce opponent of the U.S. presence whose followers have fought bloody battles with American forces, ordered his Mahdi Army militia to cease activities Aug. 29 after intra-Shiite fighting in the holy city of Karbala.
Analysts and military officials described the cease-fire as an attempt to salvage Sadr's reputation after the bloodshed, in which 52 people were killed and 300 injured.
Since then, U.S. military officials, who once considered his fighters their worst enemies, have begun referring to the cleric as "the honorable" Muqtada Sadr and have thanked him for using his influence to reduce the violence.
They say the truce has contributed to a drop in attacks on U.S. forces and has reduced sectarian-based killings, which used to leave Baghdad's streets strewn with as many as 30 bodies a day. Now it is rare for police to report finding more than three bodies a day of suspected victims of sectarian death squads.
At a news conference Wednesday, a U.S. military spokesman, Navy Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, said the United States remained optimistic the truce would last beyond its scheduled expiration date Saturday.
"We'll deal with the contingencies of the what-if when it occurs, but as of today the cease-fire remains in place and we hope and expect it will continue," Smith said.
But the message from Sadr's office was that his patience had worn thin.
