Maliki: Terrorism Must Be Eradicated

BAGHDAD,(ST)_ Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki  stressed that terrorism is a dangerous  scourge and must be eradicated and that the region faces a major serious  challenge that  requires everyone to unite to confront it, warning states destroying  Iraq and the countries of the region will face the same fate.

Maliki said in a speech during an Iftar banquet  yesterday for a number of security and military leaders  that the war on terrorism must be global and called on Arab countries to cooperate in combating and confronting  terrorism .

 Maliki said that one who wins the battle does not mean overcoming  adversity because challenges are great and Iraq is not in isolation from it, stressing that  achieving security  requires strenuous efforts to maintain the participation of all Iraqis. 

He indicated  that what happened recently in al-Taji and Abu Ghraib  prisons are schemes implemented by third parties aimed at defeating the security man , politician , and the Iraqi people who faced terrorism ,  calling in this regard  the Iraqis to cooperate with the security services and provide information on the movements of terrorist forces  so as to make achievements in the area  of intelligence information in order to break the backbone of terrorism and terrorists and all those who want bad in Iraq. 

He stressed that the recent security setbacks in Iraq does not live up to the collapse and warned neighboring states, that  “they are destroying  in Iraq and the region and will eventually meet same  upcoming destiny ,”

Maliki called on the Iraqi society “to maintain unity away from sectarian discrimination “, stressing  that “if they want to export evil to Iraq they should prepare themselves  to receive these wicked  evils.”  

According to UN figures, some  1057 people were killed and 2363 others injured by acts of violence and terrorism that occurred  in July in Iraq.

However,  figures from the  Iraqi Ministries of Defense, Interior and Health  showed that  989 people were killed  in the country during the same month, representing highest official death toll as a result of  violence just in one month since April 2008.

In another context, the Iraqi army destroyed three training camps for al-Qaeda in al-Jazeera area, arrested 33 terrorists and seized large quantities of arms and ammunition.

Moreover, special security forces were able to raid a shelter for  al-Qaeda  terrorists , arrested  12 terrorists and  confiscated  a plant for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices and a booby trapped car  was dismantled in al-Jazeera area. 

T. Fateh