Iraqi PM announces crackdown on militias

Iraq's prime minister promised yesterday a new crackdown on sectarian gunmen who kill hundreds of people a week in Baghdad but has yet to endorse any proposal from President George W. Bush to send in more American troops.

In a pugnacious speech for Army Day, Nuri al-Maliki said a plan was in place for Iraqi forces to crush illegal armed groups "regardless of sect or politics", suggesting he may be ready to tackle militias loyal to his fellow Shi'ites, a key demand of Washington and of Saddam Hussein's once dominant Sunni minority.

His announcement, along with a defiant response to critics of his decision to hang Saddam a week ago, comes as Bush conducts a major reshuffle of commanders and diplomats in Iraq and prepares to unveil a new strategy next week that officials say may include a proposal to add 20,000 US troops in Baghdad.

A US television report said defense secretary Robert Gates had recommended a buildup of 10,000 US troops in Iraq, with an option of doubling that to 20,000 by spring. The Pentagon and the White House declined to comment on the report.

One of Maliki's Dawa party allies, member of parliament Ali al-Adeeb, said the crackdown would start "soon", though no date was set. He added that Maliki was still considering Bush's idea for more US troops, made in a telephone call on Thursday.

Bush's Democratic opponents, who took control of congress last week, question the need to increase troop numbers. More than 3,000 Americans have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion and many voters favour a rapid withdrawal as US forces find themselves increasingly caught in the sectarian crossfire.

Adeeb said US troops already in Iraq could simply be switched to Baghdad, as happened in a major crackdown by US and Iraqi forces last summer, which briefly reduced the killing rate before appearing to run out of steam. A US military spokesman declined to comment on "future operations".

Home to more than one Iraqi in four and with a rich mix of communities, Baghdad has seen heavy bloodshed and an ethnic cleansing of populations over the past year. Many analysts say stopping the riot quickly is vital to prevent all-out civil war for control of the oil-rich state.

A major Sunni political group issued a statement condemning "double standards" by Maliki's Shi'ite-dominated government and accusing police and Shi'ite militiamen of launching an attack on the mainly Sunni Haifa Street district of Baghdad yesterday.

Sources at police headquarters and the Interior Ministry said police had found 27 bodies in the area but had come under fire from gunmen when they tried to recover them.

In other scattered violence on the last day of the week-long Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday, Baghdad's police chief survived a car bomb attack on his motorcade that killed a bystander.

Another 47 bodies, mostly victims of torture and death squads, were found around Baghdad by police in the 24 hours to Friday evening, a typical total. The United Nations estimated that close to 4,000 civilians died in violence in October.

Sadr, whose supporters played a key role in Maliki's appointment as a compromise prime minister in April, denies any such involvement. Maliki has repeatedly rejected criticism that he has not confronted the Mehdi Army before now, saying the Shi'ite armed groups can be tamed through political dialogue.