Baghdad, Iraq, Oct 11, SPA -- Followers of cleric Muqtadaal-Sadr trickled in to police stations in Baghdad's SadrCity district to hand in weapons Monday under a deal seenas a key step toward ending weeks of fighting with U.S. andIraqi forces in the Shiite militant stronghold. Checkpoints lined the road to al-Nasr police station, andIraqi National Guard members took up position on thesurrounding rooftops. Police Maj. Kadhim Salman said fighters had turned inmachine guns, TNT paste, land mines and other explosives. Fighters are supposed to be compensated for the weaponsthey turn in, but Salman said those responsible for thepayments hadn't turned up yet. So, receipts were issuedinstead. Outside the Habibiya police station, a pickup truckoffloaded some 20 grenade launchers and dozens of mortarrounds, Associate Press Television News footage showed.U.S. soldiers supervised the process from a distance. Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army agreed over the weekend to hand inits medium and heavy weapons at three police stations inSadr City. The arms transfer is supposed to last five days,after which Iraqi police and National Guardsmen will assumesecurity responsibility for the teeming Shiite slum, whichis home to more than 2 million people. In return, the government has promised to start releasingdetained al-Sadr followers, provided they did not commitcrimes. It has also suspended raids in the northeasternBaghdad district. Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari welcomed the handoverMonday as a "good and positive initiative," telling APTNthat he hoped other insurgent enclaves would follow SadrCity's example. Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's interim administration hascommitted more than US$500 million (¤406 million) torebuilding Sadr City, scene of weeks of heavy fightingbetween U.S. troops and al-Sadr's militia.--SPA1203 Local Time 0903 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/210134