Al-Maliki vows crackdown in Baghdad

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BAGHDAD (AP) — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said today he planned to launch more security crackdowns like the one in Basra against "criminal gangs" in Baghdad.

Addressing a news conference, he singled out Sadr City and Shula — two Mahdi Army militia strongholds in Baghdad — as likely targets in the future crackdowns, saying they were under the sway of "criminal gangs."

Mr. al-Maliki did not mention by name the Mahdi Army militia, which is led by radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Sadr City and Shula are militia strongholds and any attack by government troops there is likely to trigger a backlash by the militia like what happened in Basra last week.

"We cannot remain silent about our people and families in Sadr City, Shula and other areas … while they are held hostage by gangs that control them. We must liberate these cities because we came (to office) to serve them," Mr. al-Maliki said.

He also announced the creation of 25,000 jobs in Basra and the spending of US $100 million to improve services in the city, Iraq's second largest.

Mr. al-Maliki took personal charge of the operation in Basra, but his security forces were met with strong resistance from Shiite militiamen there. The fighting also spread to Baghdad and a string of cities across central and southern Iraq. On Sunday, Sheik al-Sadr called his troops off the streets and demanded that the government halts the arrest of his followers and release those in detention without being charged.

"We did not make mistakes, but we had points of weakness," Mr. al-Maliki said of the performance of the security forces. "We discovered that we have a shortage of appropriate weapons for the fight in Basra which we will work quickly to end."

The prime minister also called on the political movement loyal to Sheik al-Sadr and other parties to cleanse their ranks from what he called criminal gangs.