Baghdad under extra military pressure

The Iraqi prime minister has started the biggest security crackdown in Baghdad since the US-led invasion of 2003.
Up to 75,000 Iraqi and US soldiers using tanks and armoured vehicles will be deployed across the capital starting on Wednesday.
Not long after the clampdown started, a car bomb killed one person and wounded five, a police source said. No other information was immediately available about the blast.
Nuri al-Maliki also announced plans for an extended curfew and a weapons ban, saying he would show no mercy to alleged terrorists.
The operation, which army officials said was dubbed Operation Forward Together, came as Muqtada al-Sadr planned a demonstration in Baghdad to protest against the surprise visit on Tuesday of George Bush, the US president.
Iraqis were met with increased checkpoints causing traffic jams as they drove to work, and there were fewer vehicles on the streets.
Iraqis in Baghdad will also have to cope with a rise in house raids. Security officials also said air raids might be used. No date was given for the end of the operation.
An Iraqi army official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to release the information, said two divisions had been deployed, which would be about 20,000 soldiers, along with 50,000 interior ministry forces.
Thinking big
Major General Mahdi al-Gharrawi, the commander of public order forces under the interior ministry, said the operation was to be the biggest of its kind in Baghdad since the US handed over sovereignty to Iraq in June 2004.
"Baghdad is divided according to geographical area, and we know the al-Qaeda leaders in each area," he said.
Al-Gharrawi also said he believed fighters opposed to the US presence in Iraq were likely to step up their attacks.
"We are expecting clashes will erupt in the predominantly Sunni areas," he said.
Civilians 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.
Restrictions
Al-Maliki's plan includes banning personal weapons and implementing a 9pm to 6am curfew, which hitherto had begun at 11pm. The new curfew was expected to begin on Friday.
Many Iraqis have started to carry guns for their own protection.
Al-Maliki said the plan "
An Iraqi soldier mans his gun inthe Kadhimiya district of Baghdadwill 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 towards those who show no mercy to our people," he said in a statement.
The Iraqi army launched a similar crackdown dubbed Operation Lightning in May 2005, deploying more than 40,000 Iraqi police and soldiers, backed by American troops and air support.
However, violence continued to increase and many Sunnis were alienated by the heavy-handed tactics concentrating on their neighbourhoods.
The extended curfew is expected to curtail what few social activities Baghdad's six million residents have left - including shopping and buying bread.
But those activities were already restricted in many neighbourhoods where the streets are not safe at night. People are very likely to shoot strangers on sight after dark, which begins about 9pm.
Deaths
Major-General Abdul-Aziz Muhammad, a defence ministry spokesman, said 761 attacks had killed 263 civilians and wounded 301 others last week, from Friday to Saturday, while 78 terrorism suspects were killed and 584 detained.
So far in 2006, at least 3,829 Iraqi civilians and at least 754 Iraqi security forces have been killed in war-related violence. For the same period, at least 4,577 Iraqi civilians and at least 749 Iraqi security forces have been wounded. These figures are based on AP reports, which may not be complete because the reporting process does not cover the entire country. These numbers do not include fighters.
There have been at least 335 deaths among US-led forces in 2006; of these at least 312 have been US military.