Baghdad, Iraq ? Rebellious Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr warned Friday that the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq had not ended with the recent handover of limited political powers to an interim government and called on his followers to continue resisting the large presence of foreign troops in the country.

Shiite faithful chant Death

“I want to draw your attention to the fact there was no transferring of authority,” Jabir Khafaji, a top al-Sadr lieutenant, read from a letter during Friday prayers at a mosque in the southern city of Kufa where al-Sadr commonly preaches. “What has changed is the name only.”

Khafaji also demanded that the new Iraqi government defer to the Shiite religious leadership based in the neighboring holy city of Najaf. He asserted that the Mahdi Army, al-Sadr’s black-clad militia recently pummeled in two months of battle with U.S. forces, is “the army of Iraq.”

“I ask the Iraqis to keep rejecting the occupation and call for independence,” Khafaji said.

Al-Sadr’s comments, echoed by another of his top aides here in Baghdad, appeared to be a step away from the conciliatory calls for unity he made last week after coordinated insurgent attacks killed more than 100 Iraqis. His words could present an early test for Iraq’s unelected government now seeking to shore up its legitimacy after Monday’s handover of limited political authority after 15 months of occupation.

Since intensive fighting between U.S. forces and al-Sadr’s militia in several southern cities ended in a cease-fire last month, al-Sadr has announced plans to form a political party and participate in national elections scheduled for January.