Iraqi general to take control of Baghdad military security operations

An Iraqi soldier guards a checkpoint in Baghdad today

BAGHDAD, Iraq: The general who will lead Iraqi forces in the coming security crackdown in Baghdad takes charge on Monday, and the much-vaunted joint operation with American forces to curb sectarian bloodshed will start "very soon thereafter," a senior U.S. military adviser said.

The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, whose choice to lead the operation was reported by The Associated Press nearly a month ago. He was named to the top position under pressure from the United States military, which rejected Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's first choice — Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Freiji.

Gambar, a Shiite in his early 60s, was held briefly as a U.S. prisoner after his capture in the 1991 Gulf War. He and his unit were decorated by Saddam Hussein for their defense of Kuwait's Fialaka Island at the opening of the conflict, which ended in Iraq's defeat after a year of occupying its smaller neighbor.

"Officially the Baghdad Operational Command takes over tomorrow so the expectation is that the plan will be implemented soon thereafter, very soon thereafter," said U.S. Col. Douglass Heckman, the senior adviser to the 9th Iraqi Army Division.

Two Iraqi newspapers have reported the operation would begin Monday.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

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