Getting Rid of Insurgents Ramping up
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed around 400 suspected militants since the start of a major security crackdown in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday.
Maliki visited the command center for the operation which was launched 10 days ago and urged security forces not to be swayed by sectarian loyalties.
The Shi'ite prime minister is under pressure from Washington to root out Shi'ite militias with as much determination as he has taken on Sunni Arab insurgents.
Friday's brief detention by U.S. forces of the son of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, one of
Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite leaders, could strain his government's relations with Washington.
Maliki told reporters 426 suspected militants had been detained in the crackdown "and around that number have been killed" since it was launched in mid-February. The campaign is regarded as the last chance to prevent all-out civil war.
North of Baghdad, Iraqi troops supported by U.S. aircraft killed "tens" of militants at an insurgent base early on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Brigadier Abdul-Kareem Khalaf said a large Iraqi force clashed with insurgents in a rural area of Mashahda at dawn. U.S. air strikes destroyed the base.
Maliki said the crackdown would be extended to other provinces once Baghdad was stabilized. "I'm very optimistic about this plan because of the cooperation between the people and the security forces," he said.
A statement from his office said the prime minister reminded security forces to "respect the citizen" during searches. "We will punish all those who ease up on searches involving people from their sect or ethnicity," the statement said.
Washington has called the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the greatest threat to security in Iraq. Sunni Arabs blame it for running death squads with the collusion of police they say are deeply infiltrated by the militias. Sadr denies the charges.
The crackdown appears to have reduced the number of death squad victims found each day in Baghdad from around 40 or 50 in recent months, but U.S. commanders have said it will take months to really judge its success.
On Friday just five bodies were found, a police source said.
ANGER OVER DETENTION
Hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets of Shi'ite towns on Saturday to protest Friday's detention of Ammar al-Hakim.
There were no reports of violence. The U.S. military said Ammar al-Hakim was held on Friday because members of his convoy acted suspiciously at a border checkpoint while returning from
Iran. He was released after several hours.
The incident could strain good ties between Washington and the elder Hakim's Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the dominant party in the Shi'ite-led government.
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim held talks with
President Bush in Washington in December.
U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver said in a statement the convoy was stopped because the vehicles met "specific criteria for further investigation in an area where smuggling activity has taken place in the past."
"At the time, members of the convoy did not cooperate with Coalition Forces and displayed suspicious activities which subsequently led to Mr. Hakim's detention," Garver said.
"Further investigation led to Mr. Hakim's release to Iraqi authorities and the return of his possessions. Mr. Hakim was treated with dignity and respect throughout the incident.
"Unfortunate incidents such as this occasionally occur as Iraq endeavors to secure its borders," he said.
Washington accuses Iran of providing weapons to Shi'ite militias in Iraq. Security forces closed the border with Iran for several days earlier this month.
U.S. forces have recently arrested a number of Iranians in Iraq, including several who were seized at Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim's compound in Baghdad. They were later released.
Abdul-Kareem al-Jazairi, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim's Basra representative, said the incident highlighted "American foolishness."
"He is a well-known figure and to claim he was arrested by mistake is nonsense. We consider this an American attempt to create chaos in Iraq," he told Reuters at a protest in Basra.
Iraqi PM says 400 militants killed in crackdown - Yahoo! News
Talabani and Barzani meeting
(Voice of Iraq) - 24-02-2007 shall Sotaliraq.com - صوت العراق
Talabani and Barzani and Khalilzad met on the product Dukan Balslimaneh
(In addition to the start of the meeting and details)
Arbil - (Voices of Iraq)
A source close to the Kurdistan Democratic Party that tripartite meeting began before noon today, Saturday, in a product Du the tourist west of the city of Sulaymaniyah attended by the President of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Kurdistan Ara s Massoud Barzani and the American ambassador in Iraq politics Mai Khalil added.
The source, who asked for anonymity, told that B (Voices of Iraq) to the Independent that the meeting Sepp he urged the security situation in Iraq as well as the application of Article 140 the Iraqi constitution Special normalize the situation in Karak K1.
He added that the head of Kurdistan Parliament Adnan Mufti and the Prime Minister in the government of Iraq's Kurdistan region White Yerevan Barzani part in the meeting.
"The source told (Voices of Iraq) earlier in the on that "there is a meeting this afternoon between the Taliban and Al Barzani, in Dokan, the presence of leaders of the Democratic Party Kurdistan and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, to discuss those who disturbed none of the current mission, including the application of Article 140 of the Constitution Special Kirkuk and the Turkish threats to the territory of Krdst that. "
Sotaliraq.com - صوت العراق