AP's Latest Basra Report
Earlier, eight civilians, including two women and one child, were killed after a U.S. warplane bombed a house in Basra, Iraqi police said, according to the AP.
Al-Maliki's remarks came four days after Iraqi troops launched a crackdown against Shiite militias and gangs in the southern Iraqi city, AP reported.
American forces launched their first air strikes in Basra yesterday as Iraqi troops struggled against strong resistance in the nation's commercial center and headquarters of the oil industry, AP said. Clashes there have sparked retaliatory fights in Baghdad and other Shiite cities, it said.
Handing over the security of Iraq to Iraqi forces is a key policy of the U.S.-led coalition, and the U.S. yesterday indicated plans for reducing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq would go ahead. The U.K. transferred the southern, oil-rich province of Basra to Iraqi forces in December. Half of Iraq is now under Iraqi provincial control and the government has said it hopes to take over the remaining provinces as soon as possible.
Socialize this! 
Personalize this! 
Radicalize this!
