Iraq will announce a nationwide arms amnesty next week, National Security Adviser Kassim Daoud has said.
He said the move was aimed at stopping the flow of arms to the Baghdad slum of Sadr City, a stronghold of Shia militants.
Iraq's National Security Adviser, Kassim Daoud
"Next week, we will announce a nationwide arms collection drive," Mr Daoud said, adding that a deadline for the current arms amnesty in Sadr City would be extended to Thursday.
"There are many people with weapons who want to hand them over in Sadr City so we decided to extend the deadline until Thursday. It would not be fair to search houses now when these people have not had enough time to turn over their weapons."
Militants loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had been fighting US troops in Sadr City.
Iraq's interim government is also trying to pacify the rebel-held western city of Fallujah ahead of elections scheduled for January.
The government has threatened a military offensive in Fallujah if the town fails to hand over Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his followers.
But Fallujah residents say they have seen no evidence that Zarqawi has a network in the city, and US air strikes there have enraged the population.