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Iraq PM says contacted by armed groups on peace

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 June 2006, 09:32 CDT

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 he 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."

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 the 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 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 Iraqi Haitham al-Badri, identified as the al Qaeda leader in Salahaddin province, masterminded the attack in the town of Samarra north of Baghdad.

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

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.

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.

Al Qaeda affiliated group Army of Ansar al-Sunna issued an Internet statement denouncing Maliki's plan.

"Oh intellectuals, spiritual leaders, youth and the general public, we must reject any external ideas and suspect principles even if they are disguised as the truth," it said.

Source: REUTERS

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