Prime minister al-Maliki promises 'no mercy' for terrorists

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's new prime minister promised "no mercy" for terrorists Tuesday on the eve of a security crackdown involving 75,000 troops, road closures and a curfew.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that Iraq was "determined to succeed, and we have to defeat terrorists and defeat all the hardships."

Security officials said Iraqi and multinational forces would deploy today throughout Baghdad, securing roads, launching raids against insurgent hideouts, and calling in airstrikes if necessary.

Underscoring the lack of security, a series of explosions struck the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least 16 people.

The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq vowed to avenge predecessor Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death and threatened horrific attacks "in the coming days," according to a statement posted on the Web -- the first from the new terrorist leader.

The statement appeared a day after the group announced that a man identified by the nom de guerre Abu Hamza al-Muhajer would succeed the Jordanian-born militant as its leader.

Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed said 761 attacks killed 263 civilians and wounded 301 others last week, from Friday to Saturday, while 78 terror suspects were killed and 584 detained.

Radical anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's representatives, meanwhile, organized a demonstration for today in northern Baghdad to protest the visit of President Bush.

Maj. Gen. Mahdi al-Gharrawi, the commander of public order forces under the Interior Ministry, said al-Maliki's plan includes securing roads in and out of Baghdad, banning personal weapons and implementing a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Al-Gharrawi told The Associated Press that the plan to be launched at 6 a.m. Wednesday would be the biggest operation of its kind in Baghdad since the United States handed over sovereignty to Iraq in 2004.

He warned insurgents were likely to step up activity ahead of the security crackdown and as revenge for al-Zarqawi's death. He said the ground forces could call in air cover if needed.

"We are expecting clashes will erupt in the predominantly Sunni areas," he said. "The terrorists will escalate their violence especially during the first week as revenge for the killing of al-Zarqawi."

He also said; "Baghdad is divided according to geographical area and we know the al-Qaida leaders in each area."

Iraqis have complained of random violence and detentions by Iraqi forces, especially the police, which are widely believed to have been infiltrated by so-called sectarian death squads.

Al-Gharrawi said there were plans for a single uniform to distinguish legitimate forces in the coming days.

"There will be a special uniform with special badges to be put on the vehicles as a sign that it belongs to our forces," he said, adding the prime minister would decide when to end the crackdown.

Iraqi army Brig. Jalil Khalaf also said the plan would include more checkpoints and raids against suspected insurgent hideouts.

"The terrorists cannot face such power," he said.

Al-Maliki said the plan "will provide security and confront the terrorism and ... enable Iraqis to live in peace in Baghdad."

"The raids during this plan will be very tough ... because there will be no mercy toward those who show no mercy to our people," he said in a news release.

The Iraqi army launched a similar crackdown dubbed Operation Lightning on May 28, deploying more than 40,000 Iraqi police and soldiers, backed by American troops and air support, but violence continued to spike and many Sunnis were alienated by the heavy-handed tactics concentrating on their neighborhoods.

The attacks in Kirkuk began at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, when a parked car containing a bomb exploded near a police patrol in the city center, killing 10 people, including two policemen, Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir said. Nine people were wounded.

A half-hour later, guards opened fire on a suspected suicide car bomber trying to get through a checkpoint at the Kirkuk police directorate. The car exploded, killing five people, including two policemen, and wounding six, Qadir said.

Another suspected suicide car bomber in Kirkuk tried to hit a Kurdish political office in the oil-rich city about 180 miles north of Baghdad at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, but guards opened fire on the car, and it exploded, police Col. Taieb Taha said. Three civilians were wounded.

A suicide car bomber targeted a police patrol south of Kirkuk more than an hour later near an institute for the disabled. The explosion killed the driver of a civilian car nearby and wounded six, Qadir said.

At least 20 other violent deaths were reported Tuesday, according to police.