400 militants killed in Iraq
2007-02-24 17:10
Baghdad - US and Iraqi security forces
have killed about 400 suspected militants since the start of a
major crackdown to stem violence in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki said on Saturday.
Maliki visited the command centre for the operation which
was launched 10 days ago and urged security forces taking part
in it not to be influenced by sectarian loyalties.
He told reporters 426 suspected militants had been detained
in the crackdown "and around that number have been killed".
Maliki, a Shi'ite Islamist criticised for not doing enough
to combat Shi'ite militias, has vowed to deal even-handedly with
both Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims responsible for violence that had
been killing hundreds every week.
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 identified the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to
radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, as the greatest threat
to security in Iraq. Sunni Arabs blame it for running death
squads, a charge Sadr denies.
"The prime minister pointed out the positive results that
were produced in the last few days after a number of terrorist
cells were broken up and many of their operations failed, as
well as the return of hundreds of displaced families to their
areas," the statement said.