Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr wants a "political solution" to the crisis that has led to deadly clashes between his followers and government security forces this week in Baghdad and the oil-rich south.

In a brief statement released in this holy Shi'ite city south of Baghdad, Sadr said he wants "everyone to pursue political solutions and peaceful protests and a stop to the shedding of Iraqi blood."

The statement was relayed to he media by Sadr's close aide Hazem al-Aaraji.