Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq 　

    BAGHDAD, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said on Friday that he is planning to form a special group to fight the U.S. forces in Iraq.

    In a statement issued by Sadr office, the anti-U.S. cleric said that the Shiite Mahdi Army militia will continue to fight the U.S.-led forces in Iraq but the fighting should be restricted to a selected group.

    "The resistance of the occupiers will be carried out exclusively by a special group which I will declare later," Sadr said in his statement read on his followers in Friday prayers in holy Shiite town of Kufa.

    "The weapons of this armed group will only be directed toward the occupiers," the statement said, warning that those who disobey will be disowned by Muqtada al-Sadr.

    "We will keep on resisting the occupiers until the liberation of Iraq or (our) martyrdom," Sadr vowed in his statement.

    Sadr followers have frequently fought U.S. troops in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

    Earlier this year, hundreds of people were killed when Sadr's Mahdi Army fought fierce clashes against U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces in Baghdad and despite Sadr's announcement of cease-fire.