However, Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television reported Sunday that the US gave armed militias in Iraq's holiest Shiite city, 177km south of Baghdad, until Sept. 13 to disarm and disband.
Krivo said the American-led coalition would not turn a "blind eye to any militia."
"We are supporting any Iraqi who desires to help secure the country. However, that has got to be through the direction of the central government," Krivo said in Baghdad.
Another senior US military official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that militia groups would be dealt with "gingerly" once tensions cooled in Najaf, where a leading Shiite cleric was assassinated in an Aug. 29 car bomb outside the Imam Ali shrine. The bombing killed between 85 and 125 people.
"Dealing with militia requires finesse. It's going to require great sensitivity to the ethnic groups," the official said. The US objective is to ensure central government control, the official added, saying, "You cannot have people setting up private armies."
RSS