Iraq PM: Security plan to target militants

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister told parliament Thursday that the coming security sweep in the capital would not be the last battle against militants, who he said would not be safe anywhere in the country.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did not reveal the details of the plan or say when it would begin, although he promised to ensure the human rights of innocent Iraqis.

"Operation Imposing Law," as he named the security operation that is bringing 21,500 more American troops to Iraq, would target Sunni and Shiite lawbreakers equally.

"We are full of hope. We have no other choice but to use force and any place where we receive fire will not be safe even if it is a school, a mosque, a political party office or home," he said. "There will be no safe place in Iraq for terrorists."

Past attempts by American forces and Iraqis have failed to cleanse the capital of Sunni insurgents and Shiite militiamen. Previously, al-Maliki intervened to prevent the crackdowns from going after members of the Shiite Mahdi Army that is run by one of his prime political backers, anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The militia force is believed responsible for much of the sectarian killing in Baghdad and central Iraq in recent months. Its forces and death squads have deeply infiltrated Iraqi security forces.

The crackdown "aims to disarm all groups and only leave weapons in the hands of the government," al-Maliki said, repeating a phrase he has consistently repeated for months. "This plan will not be the last. The battle between us and terrorists is open and continuous."

Meanwhile, the mayor of Baghdad's Sadr City said he reached agreement with political and religious groups to keep weapons off the streets of the heavily populated Shiite militia stronghold and has presented the deal to U.S. and Iraqi government officials in an apparent attempt to avoid a crackdown on the area.

Rahim al-Darraji said Iraqi troops will be in charge of security in the sprawling district in eastern Baghdad. His comments come amid fears that Sadr City, the main headquarters of the Mahdi Army militia, could be a major target in the planned crackdown.

The prime minister said five committees will be set up to work in conjunction with the military as it and U.S. troops conduct the security plan to deal with political, media, public services, economic and community outreach aspects.

He said Baghdad would be divided into nine sectors and Iraqi troops would be in the lead, backed by American forces.

The last of five additional U.S. brigades to help with the security sweep are scheduled to arrive in the Iraqi capital in May. The first, a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, arrived last week.

In violence Thursday, a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded in one of Baghdad's busiest market areas, killing at least four people and wounding 18, police said.

The blast hit the Shorja market district at about 11 a.m., police said, giving the casualty toll. The market is a major point for wholesalers to sell food, clothing and house products in the warehouses, stalls and shops lining the streets.

A bomb also struck a market in the religiously mixed area of Baiyaa in western Baghdad at 10:45 a.m., killing at least one civilian and wounding seven, police said.

Both areas have been the targets of bombings previously as insurgents seek busy commercial targets to maximize the casualties.

In northern Iraq, gunmen killed Hussein Abdul Aziz Ahmed, a member of the local council in Gayyara, about 20 miles south of Mosul, as he was driving to work, police said.

Bombs kill 28 but PM vows no haven for militants

By Mariam Karouny

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombs killed at least 28 people in Baghdad on Thursday, but Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed his new crackdown in Baghdad would leave militants nowhere to hide.

In a speech to parliament, Maliki urged politicians on all sides to support his security plan, backed by some 17,000 U.S. reinforcements, which is seen by many as a last chance to stem sectarian violence in the capital.

"There will be no safe haven -- no school, no home, no (Sunni) mosque or Shi'ite mosque. They will all be raided if they are turned into a launchpad for terrorism, even the headquarters of political parties," he said.

Maliki said his determination had already borne fruit.

"I know that senior criminals have left Baghdad, others have fled the country. This is good, this shows that our message is being taken seriously," he said.

Some fear that militants may simply avoid confrontation in the crackdown, betting that eventually U.S. troops will leave.

"There is a ... concern they might be lying low, avoiding conflict now in order to fight another day," U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said on Wednesday.

Criticized for not doing enough about Shi'ite militias linked to some of his allies, Maliki has vowed to take on armed groups regardless of sect or political affiliation.

"We have worked hard to get professional officers to lead this plan, with no political affiliations. So let's all help these officers," he said, answering criticism that the Iraqi army and police are infiltrated by sectarian militias.

Washington has identified the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, as the greatest threat to security in Iraq and has warned that the success of Maliki's plan depends on him going after Shi'ite militias with as much determination as he deals with Sunni Arab insurgents.

The prime minister, who depends on Sadr's political movement for support in parliament, has been accused of failing to crack down on the Mehdi Army in the past, but officials in his Shi'ite Alliance say he has now accepted he must take action.

A senior member of the Sadrist movement, Bahaa al-Araji, pledged the group's support for the plan in parliament, as did the main Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties. The parliament voted unanimously to support the plan.

NO LET-UP

Since Maliki announced his plan earlier this month there have been a string of bombings and dozens of bodies continue to be found dumped in the city, apparent victims of death squads. Thirty-three were found on Wednesday alone.

A car bomb ripped through a shopping district in Karrada in central Baghdad, killing 20 people and wounding another 20, a police source said.

Another car bomb and a motorbike bomb exploded in other markets, killing five people, while a roadside bomb killed three, police said. Earlier this week a double bombing at a market killed at least 88 people in central Baghdad.

Two rockets landed in the heavily fortified Green Zone housing the government and embassies, provoking loudspeaker warnings to for people to take cover. The U.S. military had no immediate information on casualties.

Maliki said Iraqi security forces would start to remove squatters from Baghdad homes they have illegally occupied since the owners fled sectarian intimidation and ethnic cleansing.

"Today or tomorrow we will start arresting those who are living in the homes of refugees, to open the way for their return," he said.

Tens of thousands of people, including Shi'ites, Sunni Arabs and Christians, have fled their homes in Baghdad because of violence and threats that have turned many formerly mixed districts into sectarian enclaves.

Maliki also rejected suggestions his security plan was a last chance: "The battle between us and terrorism is an open-ended battle. It does not stop with the end of this plan."

With U.S. public patience running thin, U.S. President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 extra troops has met stiff opposition in the new Democrat-dominated Congress.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday voted 12-9 against the new war strategy in a resolution that is due for a vote by the entire Senate next week.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/iraq_dc

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