Washington: A council of Iraqi clerics along with the radical cleric Moqtada Sadr have agreed on a truce to end conflict in three cities with US-led coalition, according to US officials.

"They appear to have peacefully resolved the situation in Najaf, Kufa and Karbala," a senior US official said.

"This is a significant achievement."

A second US official said the ceasefire agreement "resulted from the efforts of the Shia clergy to convince Sadr to stop the fighting".

The agreement was reached late yesterday (May 26, 2004) in Iraq, the official said.

The first official said that the deal would stop the violence by Sadr's large and disruptive private militia, halt their attacks on US troops, and end their presence in Government buildings in the three cities.

The agreement also appears to make provisions for the disposition of some members of Sadr's private Mehdi Army, who were allegedly connected to the killing of a rival cleric last year.