Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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April 16, 2008

Iraq Replaces Two Senior Commanders in Basra 
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1BE8123:A6F02AD83191E160918C797CC6C8888FE55ED32ED25AB8F6& 
Officials say the military chief and police chief were reassigned to Baghdad after Iraqi security forces failed to crack down on Shi'ite militias 
Iraqi officials say two senior commanders in Basra were replaced Wednesday, after Iraqi security forces failed in recent efforts to crack down on Shi'ite militias in the southern city.







Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki gives a press conference with European Commission Chairman Jose Manuel Barroso (not pictured), 16 Apr 2008Officials say the military chief, Lieutenant General Mohan al-Fireji, and police chief, Major General Abdul-Jalil Khalaf, were reassigned to Baghdad. There was no immediate word on who will replace them.

Iraq's security forces launched an offensive in late March against militants loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The effort triggered deadly clashes, during which hundreds of security force members refused to fight or gave their weapons to the militants.

In other news, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says he is more confident than ever that al-Qaida in Iraq will be defeated.

Mr. Maliki Wednesday spoke to members of the European Parliament during a visit to EU headquarters in Brussels. He said his government is "determined to defeat terrorism."

U.S. and Iraqi military authorities blamed al-Qaida for a series of fatal bombings in Sunni Arab areas on Tuesday. More than 50 people were killed and almost 100 were wounded in those attacks in Baquba and Ramadi.

In military operations in Iraq Wednesday, British officials say a coalition airstrike killed four militants and wounded another in Basra.

A British military spokesman, Major Tom Holloway, said the strike targeted a group carrying rocket-propelled grenades.

And coalition forces say they detained 13 suspected al-Qaida terrorists during operations Tuesday and Wednesday in the Tigris River Valley and northwestern Iraq. 

In another development, the U.S. military says two Marines were killed earlier this week in a roadside bomb attack in Anbar province.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.





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