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"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki raised the stakes in his five-day-old crackdown on Shi'ite militants on Saturday, describing his foes as "worse than al Qaeda".
The death toll rose as fighting raged in Basra and Baghdad, where U.S. forces have been drawn deeper into a confrontation that started as an Iraqi initiative.
U.S. forces said they had killed 48 militants in air strikes and gun battles across the capital the previous day.
At least 133 bodies and 647 wounded have been brought to five hospitals in the eastern half of Baghdad over five days of clashes, the head of the health directorate for eastern Baghdad, Ali Bustan, said.
In Basra, government troops say they have killed 120 fighters. Scores of people have been reported killed in other towns across the south where fighting has spread.
"We used to talk about al Qaeda. Unfortunately it seems there are some among us who are worse than al Qaeda," Maliki said in a televised meeting with tribal leaders in Basra, where he has personally overseen the crackdown since Tuesday."
Maliki says Sadrist foes worse than al Qaeda | International | Reuters
The death toll rose as fighting raged in Basra and Baghdad, where U.S. forces have been drawn deeper into a confrontation that started as an Iraqi initiative.
U.S. forces said they had killed 48 militants in air strikes and gun battles across the capital the previous day.
At least 133 bodies and 647 wounded have been brought to five hospitals in the eastern half of Baghdad over five days of clashes, the head of the health directorate for eastern Baghdad, Ali Bustan, said.
In Basra, government troops say they have killed 120 fighters. Scores of people have been reported killed in other towns across the south where fighting has spread.
"We used to talk about al Qaeda. Unfortunately it seems there are some among us who are worse than al Qaeda," Maliki said in a televised meeting with tribal leaders in Basra, where he has personally overseen the crackdown since Tuesday."
Maliki says Sadrist foes worse than al Qaeda | International | Reuters