Fiery cleric on course to win Iraq elections

Nationalist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a long-time adversary of the United States, led in Iraq's parliamentary election with more than half the votes counted yesterday, the electoral commission said, in a surprise turn of fortune for the Shia leader.

In the first election since Islamic State was defeated in the country, Shia militia chief Hadi al-Amiri's bloc, which is backed by Iran, was in second place, while Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, once seen as the front-runner, trailed in third position.

The preliminary results were based on a count of more than 95 percent of the votes cast in 10 of Iraq's 18 provinces.

Unlike Abadi, a rare ally of both the United States and Iran, Sadr is an opponent of both of the countries which have wielded influence in Iraq since a US-led invasion toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and ushered the Shia majority to power.

Sadr has led two uprisings against US forces in Iraq.

Potraying himself as an Iraqi nationalist, Sadr has a zealous following among the young, poor and dispossessed, but he had been sidelined by influential Iranian-backed figures.