Shelling Kills Iraqi Soldiers, Maliki Vows to Fight Al-Qaeda in Anbar

Local Editor

Mortar rounds struck an Iraqi army base west of Baghdad on Monday, killing four officers and two soldiers, security officials said.

A brigade commander was among the dead in the attack, which took place in the Abu Ghraib area, the sources said.
The deaths came two days after five senior officers, including a division commander, and 10 soldiers were killed during an operation against militants in the mainly Sunni western province of Anbar.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said that Anbar had become a "headquarters for the leadership of al-Qaeda," calling on protesters to leave before security forces move in.
"I say clearly and honestly that the sit-in site in Anbar has turned into a headquarters for the leadership of al-Qaeda," Maliki said in remarks broadcast Sunday on Iraqiya state TV.

"We now have a headquarters for al-Qaeda leading the armed operations against Iraq and the Iraqi people, and this is something about which we cannot be silent," he said.
Maliki called on "those who are with them in this place who refuse sabotage and who have legal or illegal demands ... to leave these camps, and leave this place, so that al-Qaeda stays alone," adding that protesters had a "very short period" in which to leave.

He called on security forces to take a "firm stance to end the headquarters of al-Qaeda, which has become a danger not only for Anbar, but for Iraq in general."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team