Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledged to maintain law and order throughout Iraq on Monday, days after a crackdown in Amara wrested control of the southern city from the hands of Shi'ite militias.
Iraqi forces have swept through Amara and the surrounding province of Maysan, seizing heavy weapons and arresting wanted men in an operation aiming to stamp government authority on an area where Shi'ite gunmen had exerted considerable influence.
The Amara operation was the latest Maliki has ordered in the past four months to impose order on areas once under the control of Shi'ite gunmen or Sunni Arab al Qaeda insurgents.
Speaking on a visit to Amara, Maliki said Diyala province north of Baghdad would be next. A female suicide bomber killed 15 people in the Diyala capital Baquba on Sunday in an attack that bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda.
"We will not stop using force against those who revolt against the will of the nation," Maliki told local tribal leaders in a speech broadcast live on state television.
"Military forces will not withdraw from (Amara) until we make sure the criminals and killers can never come back again."
Supporters of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr accuse the government of targeting their movement in the Amara operation, launched last Thursday.
Security forces have met no resistance from Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, which has been under orders from the cleric to cooperate. Many residents have said they feel safer since the offensive involving thousands of Iraqi soldiers got under way.
But followers of Sadr say they were singled out. Amara's mayor Rafea Abdul-Jabbar, a Sadr supporter, was detained, along with other Sadrist officials.
Maliki denied going after Sadr's supporters just because of their political affiliation.
"We're not taking a negative stance against any political party or person. Everyone has the right to say . what he wants, but he cannot infringe the freedom of others," he said.
