Operation to show insurgents 'no mercy'

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Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki yesterday announced the start of a massive security campaign in Baghdad, saying security forces would show "no mercy" in their effort to wipe out insurgent strongholds and defang militias.

Some 75,000 troops -- Iraqi and American -- will carry out the operation code-named "Going Forward Together," said Gen. Abdelaziz Mohammed Jassem, Iraq's combined-forces operations chief. He said the campaign would start "very, very soon," and sources in Baghdad said they expected the crackdown to begin immediately.

Mr. al-Maliki's announcement came as al Qaeda in Iraq's new leader, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, threatened to kill those Sunnis who take part in the political process rather than work with the insurgency, which has killed and maimed thousands of security forces and civilians.

Meanwhile, radical anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shi'ite, planned a demonstration today in Baghdad to protest a surprise visit by President Bush to the Iraqi capital.

Violence around the country continued unabated, with 14 persons killed in a series of bombings in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, adding to a death toll of more than 4,000 Iraqis this year alone.

Mr. al-Maliki told reporters that the new security plan "will provide security and confront the terrorism and ... enable Iraqis to live in peace in Baghdad."

"The raids during this plan will be very tough -- because there will be no mercy toward those who show no mercy to our people," he added.

The hours of nightly curfew banning all cars and people from the streets will be extended. Driving will also be banned between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Fridays, the Muslim day of worship when mosques are packed.

Reflecting the no-nonsense approach that has characterized Mr. al-Maliki's government, Gen. Jassem warned that the curfew would be strictly enforced and that anyone caught with a weapon would be shot or detained.

"Anybody on the street, in his car or in his shop caught with a weapon, any kind of weapon, will be considered a terrorist and will be treated as a terrorist. He will be killed or captured," the general said.