BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Shi'ite prime minister pledged on Wednesday to crack down on illegal militias but criticised a U.S. raid on a Shi'ite militia stronghold that killed at least four people.
A day after U.S. officials assured Americans the prime minister had agreed "timelines" to help end sectarian militia violence, Nuri al-Maliki used his own news conference to dismiss talk of any "timetable" for action.
The U.S. military said Iraqi special forces backed by U.S. air strikes conducted the raid in the Sadr City district of Baghdad "to capture a top illegal armed group commander directing widespread death squad activity".
Unusually, the U.S. statement specifically said the raid had been "authorised by the government of Iraq".
But Maliki, who is under mounting pressure from an impatient Washington to curb violence so U.S. forces can start to go home, said there was a "lack of coordination" in the raid. The Interior Ministry said four people were killed and 20 wounded.
No comments:
Post a Comment