IRAQ:US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice backed Iraq's crackdown on militias in a visit yesterday to Baghdad, where the worst fighting in weeks killed 23 after Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threatened all-out war.
Rockets blasted the fortified Green Zone compound where Ms Rice met prime minister Nuri al-Maliki and other officials and praised their month-old campaign against Sadr's followers.
She had harsh words for the reclusive cleric, who on the eve of Ms Rice's visit vowed "open war" if the crackdown continues. Sadr has not appeared in public in Iraq in nearly a year.
"He is still living in Iran. I guess it's all-out war for anybody but him," Ms Rice told reporters. "His followers can go to their death and he will still be in Iran."
Al-Sadr's reply came in a statement sent to reporters, condemning Ms Rice's visit and saying the government should not admit such "occupier terrorists into our pure land".
Yesterday, Iraqi security forces freed seven of 11 people who were kidnapped earlier in the day near Baquba, north of Baghdad, the Iraqi military said.
Nine university students and two others were taken hostage when gunmen stopped their vehicle at a fake checkpoint. Maj-Gen Abdul-Kareem al- Rubaie, head of security operations for Diyala province, said Iraqi forces had fanned out to hunt the kidnappers. They found them and freed seven students before the gunmen fled with the four remaining hostages. The students had been returning to Diyala university after a weekend break.
The kidnapping occurred two weeks after 40 students were seized by gunmen at a fake checkpoint near the northern city of Mosul. They were held for several hours before security forces freed all of them.
Although the identity of yesterday's kidnappers was not known, the incident comes amid an upturn in violence in northern Iraq. The US military described a night of gun battles and helicopter missile strikes that killed 23 fighters in east Baghdad's Sadr City slum and other militia strongholds. "I would say it's been the hottest night in a couple of weeks," spokesman Lieut-Col Steven Stover said.
Ms Rice said she supported what she called a new political "centre" that has backed Mr Maliki's anti-militia campaign.
"It is indeed a moment of opportunity in Iraq thanks to the courageous decisions taken by the prime minister and a unified Iraqi leadership," Dr Rice said.
A rebellion by al-Sadr's Mahdi army militia - whose tens of thousands of black-masked fighters control the streets in many Shia areas - could abruptly end a period of reduced violence at a time when elements of US forces are leaving Iraq.
Al-Mahdi army fighters, who have bristled at past truces, could barely hide their glee at the prospect of open conflict.
"We are very happy and eager. We are waiting for the end of the ceasefire," a street commander in Sadr City who goes by the name Abu Hassan said.
Ordinary residents of the slum say they have been living in constant terror for weeks as nightly battles between al-Sadr fighters and US and Iraqi forces killed and wounded hundreds.
"The bombing and shooting, it reminds me of the 1991 Gulf War," said student Bashar Mehdi. "I saw a man with his daughter get shot by a sniper. The man was killed and we had to carry the daughter to the hospital."
Ms Rice told reporters she did not know how seriously to take Sadr's threat of war, released in a statement on his website.
Sadr's threat dramatically raises the stakes in his confrontation with Mr Maliki, who has threatened to ban Sadr's organisation from political life unless he disbands his militia.
Mr Maliki's crackdown has led over the past month to Iraq's worst fighting in nearly a year, spreading through the south and Shia parts of Baghdad. Although fighting in the south has mainly died down, the Baghdad clashes have continued unabated.
As Dr Rice met Mr Maliki and other ministers, rockets could be heard hitting the Green Zone government and diplomatic compound where the prime minister has his office. Dr Rice left the meeting about five minutes after an all-clear signal was given.
Washington says the rockets are fired from Sadr City by rogue elements of the Mahdi army that it says are armed, trained and funded by Iran. Tehran denies responsibility.
- (Reuters)