综合一区欧美国产,99国产麻豆免费精品,九九精品黄色录像,亚洲激情青青草,久久亚洲熟妇熟,中文字幕av在线播放,国产一区二区卡,九九久久国产精品,久久精品视频免费

   

Iraq's PM vows to stay course as clashes continue

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-28 10:15

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed Thursday to stamp out "criminals" while clashes between security troops and Shiite militiamen showed few signs to wind down.

In Basra, the epicenter of the ongoing turmoil, fierce clashes kept the streets empty.


An Iraqi Mahdi militiaman is seen during clashes in the southern city of Basra on March 27, 2008. [Agencies]

Militants of the Mahdi Army, led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, traded fire with security forces in the Ma'qal area, witnesses said.

They once seized a base of Iraq's security troops but withdrew about one hour later.

Related readings:
 Iraq blast lifts crude over $107
 Iraqi PM gives Basra gunmen ultimatum
 Iraqi troops, militias clash in Basra
 Iraq more stable than Afghanistan: Jane's

 US death toll in Iraq hits 4,000
 Attacks kill 57 in Iraq; Green Zone hit

Security sources in the city confirmed that several other clashes erupted during the day, but they refused to provide details as well as casualties.

Maliki, who was overseeing the offensive in the southern city of Basra and has ordered the militants to surrender by Saturday, showed his determination to fight to the end.

"People of Basra have invited us to do our national duty to protect them from the gangs who have terrified them and stolen the national wealth," Maliki said in a statement issued by his office.

"We promise to confront the criminals and gunmen and we will never retreat from our promise," he said.

Unidentified gunmen blew up early in the day a major oil pipeline to the Basra port, which would do great harm to the country's crude export, an official from the Southern Oil Company told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The source said that the pipeline carries one-fourth of the crude exported daily from Iraq's southern oil fields.

Repairing the damage will take a long time, the source said without specifying the exact time needed.

The Mahdi Army militia has threatened to set oil wells on fire if the Iraqi security forces would not halt their operations.

A local police source said that Maj. Gen. Abdul Jalil Khalaf, police chief of Basra, survived a roadside bomb attack on his convoy shortly after midnight in the Jubaila area, about 5 km north of the city.

Three of Khalaf's bodyguards were killed in the blast.

   1 2   


Top World News  
Today's Top News  
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
台南市| 兰西县| 中西区| 宽城| 武陟县| 盘山县| 邵武市| 通城县| 三亚市| 平度市| 英德市| 微博| 上饶县| 大荔县| 灌阳县| 平利县| 鸡泽县| 开原市| 乌恰县| 开原市| 镇坪县| 宜丰县| 霸州市| 利川市| 宁城县| 巫山县| 静海县| 富锦市| 安宁市| 金阳县| 阿拉善右旗| 柳州市| 金堂县| 新丰县| 信宜市| 丰宁| 金秀| 桑日县| 潮州市| 盐亭县| 汉源县|