NAJAF, Iraq, 16 September 2007 — The movement of Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr said yesterday it would withdraw from the Shiite bloc that leads the Iraqi government, in a new blow to the faltering political process.

Sadr MP Gufran Saad said the movement was quitting the alliance because it was no longer being consulted about key decisions. “There are reasons for our withdrawal from the Shiite alliance. The alliance has been taking decisions single-handedly without consulting member blocs,” Saad said.

The United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) initially comprised four key Shiite factions — the Sadr group, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council of Iraq (SIIC), the Dawa party and the Fadhila party — and held 130 of the 275 seats in Parliament.

However, the number dropped to 115 when the Fadhila party pulled out in March.

The Sadr bloc has 32 seats in Parliament.

Sadr bloc spokesman Saleh Al-Obeidi last week said the Sadrists were considering withdrawing from the bloc because the SIIC and Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s Dawa had formed another alliance with two Kurdish groups.

“On the one hand they are taking decisions in the bloc, but on the other hand they are plotting another alliance,” said Obeidi.

Under pressure from Washington to bridge the sectarian divide, Maliki and leaders of his Dawa party on Aug. 27 reached a broad deal with two Kurdish groups and SIIC.

They agreed to ease restrictions on former members of Saddam’s Baath party taking up government jobs, to hold provincial elections — a key demand of Washington — and to help the security forces to rein in sectarian unrest.

Sadr MP Saad complained that his group had not been included in the negotiations.

“The Sadr bloc had no information about the new alliance... they do many things without consulting the blocs,” Saad said.

The Sadr group has already withdrawn its six ministers from Maliki’s government, saying Baghdad had failed to provide basic services to the people.

Yesterday, Obeidi said the Sadrists were now planning to negotiate with the Fadhila party for a possible alliance.

With the Sadr pullout, Maliki’s government can only count on the support of 136 lawmakers, including 53 from two Kurdish groups. If the Sadr bloc votes against him, it would bring the number of MPs who oppose him to 127. The other 12 MPs represent various small parties and could vote either way.

As the Shiites squabbled, an Al-Qaeda front group warned it will hunt down and kill Sunni Arab tribal leaders who cooperate with the United States and its Iraqi partners in the wake of the assassination of the leader of the revolt against the terror movement.

In a separate statement, the Islamic State of Iraq announced a new offensive in Ramadan. The statement said the offensive was in honor of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the founder of Al-Qaeda in Iraq who was killed by a US airstrike in June 2006.

The statements were posted Friday and yesterday on websites and among other things claimed responsibility for the assassination of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who spearheaded the uprising against Al-Qaeda in Anbar province west of the capital.

In claiming responsibility for Abu Risha’s death, the Islamic State said it had formed “special security committees” to track down and “assassinate the tribal figures, the traitors, who stained the reputations of the real tribes by submitting to the soldiers of the Crusade” and the government of Maliki.