Shia politicians said on Thursday they had finalised an electoral alliance of Iraq's main Shia parties, but that it excluded the followers of Moqtada al-Sadr, the former insurgent leader.

The United Iraqi Alliance, backed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the senior Shia cleric, includes figures from the al-Dawa party and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri).