WORLD> Middle East
Iraqi forces to launch new crackdown on al-Qaida
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-24 00:17

BAGHDAD  -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki announced on Monday that Iraqi forces will soon launch a massive offensive against al-Qaida militants in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad.

Maliki's remark came during his visit to Amara, capital of Maysan province, where Iraqi security forces backed by US troops are conducting a massive operation dubbed "Operation Basha'er al- Salam" (Promise of Peace) against Shiite militiamen.

"We are today in Maysan province, and God willing tomorrow we will complete our march to Diyala," Maliki said in a televised address to tribal leaders in the province without specifying the date of the crackdown.

Maliki also vowed to "continue chasing the remnant of the defeated al-Qaida elements, former regime followers, militias and the outlaws."

"We will not stop using force against those who revolt against the will of the nation," Maliki said.

Iraqi security forces backed by US troops have already launched similar offensives against Sunni insurgents in Mosul in northern Iraq and another against Shiite militiamen in the southern city of Basra.

Diyala province stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border in eastern the country. The province has long been stronghold for al-Qaida in Iraq network.