The political bloc of anti- American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Monday withdrew from the Iraqi government, an official from Sadr bloc said.

Nassar al-Rubaie, head of the Sadr movement, said that cleric al-Sadr ordered his six ministers in the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to withdraw from the government immediately.

He explained that Sadr's move came to press a demand for timetable of the U.S troops withdrawal.

Meanwhile, he expressed hope that the vacant portfolios "will be given to independents who represent the will of the people."

Sadr, a key political ally of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki, led his Mahdi Army militia in two uprisings against the American military in 2004 and has long demanded U.S. forces leave Iraq.

Last November, the political bloc announced suspension of their role in parliament and government to protest Maliki's meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. However, the bloc returned to the Iraqi political arena months later.

Source: Xinhua