Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday he planned to launch more security crackdowns like the one in Basra against "criminal gangs" in Baghdad. Addressing a news conference, he singled out Sadr City and Shula - two Mahdi Army militia strongholds in Baghdad - as likely targets in the future crackdowns, saying they were under the sway of "criminal gangs."Al-Maliki did not mention by name the Mahdi Army militia, which is led by radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Sadr City and Shula are militia strongholds and any attack by government troops there is likely to trigger a backlash by the militia like what happened in Basra last week.
"We cannot remain silent about our people and families in Sadr City, Shula and other areas ... while they are held hostage by gangs that control them. We must liberate these cities because we came (to office) to serve them," al-Maliki said.
He also announced the creation of 25,000 jobs in Basra and the spending of US $100 million to improve services in the city, Iraq's second largest.