Iraqi cleric orders supporters to retreat after clashes kill dozens

BAGHDAD — Moqtada al-Sadr, a populist Shiite cleric, called on his supporters Tuesday to immediately withdraw from a government district in Baghdad after a day of fierce fighting there killed dozens of people, deepening the political crisis in the country.

The bloodshed erupted Monday after Sadr announced his retirement from politics in a message posted on Twitter. His supporters reacted by storming the presidential palace in the district known as the Green Zone, which houses government ministries as well as foreign missions, including the U.S. Embassy.