BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister said Friday that U.S. and Iraqi troops have chased al-Qaida in Iraq out of Baghdad in the year since a security crackdown began, and he promised to pursue insurgents who have fled northward.
Underscoring the rising violence in northern Iraq, a double suicide bombing targeted Shiite worshippers as they left weekly prayer services in the city of Tal Afar, killing at least four people and wounding 17, officials said.
Police said guards at the Juwad mosque prevented a worse casualty toll by opening fire on the two attackers, one of whom was an elderly man, before they could reach the bulk of worshippers emerging from the building.
In remarks broadcast on state television, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hailed what he called a “victory in Baghdad” and thanked the U.S. military and its allies for “standing with us in defeating terrorism.”
“Today our forces are locked in battle against outlaws in Nineveh and we are chasing them,” he added, referring to the northwestern province where Iraqi officials say al-Qaida in Iraq has regrouped. Tal Afar is in Nineveh province.
The Shiite leader has promised a “decisive battle” in that region, although U.S. commanders have said it will be more a protracted fight.
The Bush administration launched its so-called surge to clear Baghdad and surrounding areas on Feb. 14, 2007, with the 82nd Airborne Division as the vanguard of an American troop buildup that climbed to 30,000 extra U.S. soldiers by the summer.
After a sharp initial spike in military and civilian casualties, violence has declined sharply, particularly in Baghdad. Still, U.S. military commanders have been cautious in describing the successes and stress that al-Qaida remains a serious threat.
“We should keep our hands on our weapons to maintain the victories,” al-Maliki said.
David Satterfield, senior adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said attacks using armor-piercing roadside bombs that the U.S. says come from Iran have “increased significantly” this year and that Tehran continues to train, equip and support Shiite extremists who attack U.S. troops in Iraq.
“We very much believe that Iran wishes to see the forced departure of foreign forces — particularly U.S. forces — in the most humiliating and devastating manner possible,” he said.
Bombings and rocket and mortar attacks attributed to Shiite militia “are not only continuing, they have significantly increased over the past six weeks,” he said.
“How do you expect the government of Iraq or the government of the United States to deal with a country which is murdering our people, which is engaged in terrorist activity around the region,” he said.
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