Iraq PM contacted by armed groups on peace

By Hiba Moussa and Mussab Al-Khairalla

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s prime minister said on Wednesday
that armed groups had contacted him on peace efforts but
stressed that those with blood on their hands would be excluded
from any amnesty under his reconciliation drive.

“I am optimistic and I confirm that a lot of those who were
involved in acts under the name of resistance … have directly
contacted us,” Nuri al-Maliki told Iraqiya state television.

“And some of them have contacted other parts of the
government and they are willing to join the political process
and lay down their weapons and we welcome that.”

Aides have previously named six of seven insurgent groups
which contacted him recently. The Shi’ite Islamist unveiled a
national reconciliation initiative on Sunday aimed at defusing
the Sunni Arab insurgency and easing sectarian bloodshed.

Maliki has been under pressure from all sides over his
plan, which is short on details on how he plans to avert a
civil war.

U.S. politicians have called angrily for there to be no
amnesty for the killers of American soldiers. But some senior
Sunni leaders call attacks against U.S. troops “legitimate
resistance” against foreign occupiers.

Since few of those fighting the U.S.-led occupying forces
and the U.S.-backed government have been convicted, or seem
likely to be, the amnesty appears largely a gesture toward the
Sunni community, where the rebellion has been concentrated.

“Those involved in killing Iraqis, crimes, military attacks
and bombings will not be released, even those who targeted
foreigners, whether multinational forces or journalists,” said
Maliki. “They caused horror and are not included in the
amnesty.”

Maliki’s reconciliation plan does not make clear how he
intends to tackle hardcore elements of the insurgency, such as
al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein loyalists leading the campaign.

SHRINE SUSPECTS

Iraq on Wednesday accused al Qaeda militants, including
four Saudis, of carrying out the February 22 bombing of a
revered Shi’ite shrine that triggered a major upsurge in
sectarian violence.

National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said fugitive
Iraqi Haitham al-Badri, identified as the al Qaeda leader in
Salahaddin province, masterminded the attack in Samarra.

Badri was in a charge of an al Qaeda unit of two Iraqis,
four Saudis and a Tunisian, Rubaie said.

The Tunisian, Abu Qudama, was wounded several days ago in
clashes with U.S. and Iraqi forces in which 15 other foreign
militants were killed and later confessed to the shrine
bombing, he said.

It was not clear under what circumstances the confession
was obtained. Al Qaeda in Iraq denied accusations at the time
that it was behind the bloodless attack, in which security
guards were tied up but left alive to face accusations of
complicity.

Some Sunnis accused Shi’ite Iranian agents of staging the
bombing to justify a wave of militia attacks on Sunnis. Iran
blamed U.S. and Israeli forces for destroying the shrine.

Rubaie said several months ago that al Qaeda’s days were
numbered in Iraq but the group has kept up attacks.

The February 22 bombing of the al-Askari shrine that
destroyed its famous golden dome set off reprisals and pushed
Iraq closer than ever to the brink of an open communal
conflict.

Iraqi officials say the death of al Qaeda in Iraq leader
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. air strike on June 7 dealt a
blow to the militant group, but they don’t expect it to end the
carnage.