Iraq reorganises forces to fight terrorism

An Iraqi girl cries as she sits with her mother yesterday on the damaged roof of their house following clashes between US army and militiamen loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr overnight in Baghdad's Shia neighborhood of Sadr City. Three Iraqis were killed and nine others wounded during the clashes. PHOTO: AFP

Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi also asked countries to bolster their support to Iraq's beleaguered forces particularly in terms of equipment.

"Until our forces are fully capable, we will continue to need support from our friends," Allawi told reporters.

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"We hope that additional international support will be forthcoming," he said. "Assistance for the protection of United Nations efforts in Iraq would be especially appreciated."

Allawi was asked about his response to Saturday's US airstrike against what the Americans said was a hideout of the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi terror network in Fallujah. The Health Ministry said at least 16 people were killed, and an Iraqi security officer in the Sunni Muslim city said there was no evidence of foreign fighters among the dead.

Allawi said "we welcome" such strikes against terrorists "anywhere in Iraq" but added that he was told of the attack only a short time beforehand. "This pattern will change" after the handover of sovereignty June 30, he said.

Allawi said the decision by US-led coalition authorities to disband the Iraqi army was a mistake and that the government was considering "emergency law" in certain, unspecified regions to bring the situation under control.

As part of the restructuring, Allawi announced the creation of a ministerial-level committee for national security, including the ministers of defense, interior, foreign, justice, and finance.

"I have developed a security strategy and have advised Iraqi security structures to improve our posture to fulfill this vital responsibility," he said. "I have presented the Iraqi vision for our security strategy to our friends."

He also announced the establishment of a Center for Joint Operations "to control all activities related to national security."

Afterward, Interior Minister Falah Hassan al-Naqib told The Associated Press that the government was also considering an amnesty for insurgents who were not personally involved in killings.

Allawi's comments at a news conference came amid a surge of bloody attacks intended to undermine his fledgling regime before the handover of power on June 30.

Many of the attacks have targeted police and other security services, who have been slowly taking over security tasks in the weeks before the transfer of sovereignty. One of the most vicious attacks occurred Thursday, when a car bomb exploded outside a military recruitment station, killing 35 and wounding 145.

Most of the victims were poor Iraqis desperate to take dangerous jobs in the Iraqi security forces because of a lack of alternatives in a country with up to 45 percent unemployment. They took their chances at the recruitment center in Baghdad even though a car bombing killed 47 people there in February.

More than 300 people have been killed in attacks on police stations and recruitment centers since September.