Leila Fadel reporting for McClatchy ...

Acting in response to a direct appeal by parliamentarians from the Shiite parties that govern Iraq and the intercession of the Iranian government, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr on Sunday ordered his Mahdi Army militia to halt its resistance to a government offensive, leading Iraqi members of parliament said.

Sadr's Mahdi Army militia took heed of the order in Baghdad, and the Iraqi government announced it would lift the 24-hour curfew starting early Monday in most parts of the capital. But fighting continued in the oil hub of Basra, where the government offensive against Shiite militias went into its sixth day with only limited gains.

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The backdrop to Sadr's dramatic statement was a secret trip Friday to Qom, Iran's holy city and headquarters of the dominant Iranian clergy, by Iraqi lawmakers.

There they held talks with Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Qods (Jerusalem) brigades of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and signed an agreement with Sadr, which formed the basis of his statement Sunday, members of parliament said.