On Wednesday, Sadr ruled out any intervention by the United States in Iraq and pledged to stop assaults by militants of the al-Qaeda splinter Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

"We will shake the ground under the feet of ignorance and extremism as we did under those of the occupation," Sadr said in a televised speech from the holy city of Najaf.

The prominent cleric expressed opposition against US military advisers’ meeting with Iraqi commanders, adding that he would back "international support from non-occupying states for the army of Iraq."

Sadr’s remarks came days after his supporters paraded in the Sadr City, situated in the north of the capital Baghdad.

On June 10, the Takfiri militants took control of the Nineveh provincial capital Mosul, in a lightning advance, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

The ISIL has vowed to continue its raid towards Baghdad. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that the country’s security forces would confront the terrorists, calling the seizure of Mosul a “conspiracy".

Soldiers of the Iraqi army have been engaged in heavy fighting with the militants in different fronts and have so far been able to push back militants in several areas.

SHI/SHI