Iraq VP wants Shi'ite militia named terror group

DUBAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) The United States should classify radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia as a ''terrorist'' group, Iraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said in comments aired today.

''What is expected from the US administration, to avoid double standards, is to classify the Mehdi Army and the militias that worked under its umbrella and banner as terrorist militias and to apply international standards against them,'' al-Hashemi, a Sunni, told Al Jazeera television.

Deemed by the Pentagon to be the biggest threat to Iraq, the Mehdi Army has kept a low profile, appearing on the streets without their guns, since US and Iraqi troops launched an offensive last week to quell sectarian violence.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani last week said Sadr had ordered his militia leaders to leave Iraq while the security operation was under way.

The US military says Sadr has fled to Iran, although Iran again denied this today. The cleric's aides insist he is still in Iraq.

''I urge the US administration to issue this classification so that the leaders of these militias would be pursued,'' said al-Hashemi.

Sadr, whose Mehdi Army is blamed by Sunni Arab leaders for many death squad killings, is a political ally of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Reuters AB RN2340