Iraqi army gears up for next operation in Amarah

[June 14, 2008]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Helicopters blanketed the southern city of Amarah with pamphlets Saturday urging residents to cooperate with Iraqi security forces as they prepare for a new operation against Shiite militia fighters, police said.

Also Saturday, President Bush brushed off comments that negotiations on a long-term security agreement between the United States and Iraq were faltering. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told reporters Friday that the talks were deadlocked but would continue.

The pamphlets urged residents to provide information about "the hideouts of outlaws" and warned them to stay indoors when the new operation dubbed "Imposing Law" starts, two local police officers said on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release information to the media. No kickoff date for the operation was provided in the pamphlets.

In advance of the operation, Iraqi soldiers accompanied by American military advisers have begun moving into the oil-producing city of Amarah, the capital of Maysan province and the purported hub of weapons smuggling from nearby Iran.

On Friday, American jets fired on militants who were trying to launch rockets at Iraqi security forces and coalition troops in Amarah, said Lt. Col. Chris Charleville, a U.S. military spokesman in Basra.

He had no information about casualties in the air attack. The British military denied Iraqi reports that three Iraqi policemen were wounded.

Normal life continued in Amarah, although more checkpoints have been erected and patrols have increased, residents said.

U.S. and Iraqi commanders say many militia chiefs have fled to Amarah and Iran after security operations against them in Basra and Baghdad's Sadr City district.

Amarah, a longtime safe haven for anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, is about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad and is separated from Iran by marshes that have been used by smugglers for centuries.

Security officials say senior militia leaders have left for Iran and only lower-level militiamen were left in Amarah.

With an overwhelmingly Shiite population, Maysan has largely been spared from sectarian bloodshed that plagued the rest of Iraq, although a triple car bombing on Dec. 12 killed at least two dozen people.

The operation is beginning as U.S. and Iraqi negotiators are struggling to meet a July target to finalize two security agreements which would establish a long-term relationship between the U.S. and Iraq and provide a legal basis for American troops to remain here after the U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.

Al-Maliki told reporters Friday in Amman, Jordan, that Iraqi negotiators had rejected U.S. proposals because they would infringe on Iraqi sovereignty.

In Paris, Bush said he was still optimistic that a deal would be finalized.

"If I were a betting man, we'll reach an agreement with the Iraqis," Bush said. "Of course, we're there at their invitation. It's a sovereign nation ... We're going to work hard to accommodate their desires. It's their country."

Failure to strike a deal would be a major setback for Bush ahead of the November presidential election and would leave the future of the U.S. mission here to the next president.

Al-Maliki, himself a Shiite, has launched a series of U.S.-supported operations against Shiite and Sunni extremists as the military seeks to maintain recent security gains that have led to dramatic falls in violence nationwide.

Frustration continues in Sadr City over what were seen by many Iraqis as heavy-handed tactics by the U.S. military in an ongoing crackdown in the sprawling district of 2.5 million people.

Dozens of mourners gathered Friday in a school in Sadr City to remember 25 civilians local officials said were killed last month when the Americans launched 200- pound guided rockets after coming under attack by militants firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns from nearby rooftops and alleys.

The memorial service included a poster compiling pictures of those killed, including three children. A soccer game also was played in honor of athletes who were among the dead, many of whom were killed by subsequent rockets after they rushed to try to rescue people from a house devastated in the first blast.

The U.S. military said at the time that 28 militants were killed. It said all precautions were taken to prevent civilian casualties but blamed the militiamen for taking cover among their neighbors and families.

"My son was able to rescue two women ... but unfortunately the second blind rocket fell and claimed his life," said Sadiq Abbas.

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Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann in Paris contributed to this report.

[Associated Press; By SINAN SALAHEDDIN]

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