400 Shiite fighters detained in past weeks

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said 400 fighters from a key backer of the Shiite-led government have been arrested, and a government spokesman said Thursday the U.S. is not giving Iraqi security forces enough money for training and equipment.\nAl-Maliki's claim sought to address doubts about his willingness to take on the Shiite militiamen, especially the Mahdi Army loyal to his key supporter, the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr's militiamen are believed responsible for much of the sectarian violence in Baghdad in the past year.\nBombers and gunmen killed at least 23 people in a series of attacks as violence surged in Baghdad ahead of a planned U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown.\nPresident Bush, announcing a new Iraq strategy last week, said a crackdown on militias was key to its success and added that al-Maliki had given a "green light" to Iraqi and U.S. forces to battle those militias without sectarian interference.\nYassin Majid, a senior al-Maliki adviser, confirmed that al-Maliki had told several newspapers in an interview Wednesday that 400 fighters from the Mahdi Army have been arrested. But he said there were not large numbers of senior militia leaders among them.\nA Baghdad Mahdi Army commander said U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a major campaign Tuesday in Um al-Maalef, a Shiite neighborhood in south Baghdad.\n"They detained every man who was able to carry weapons. We heard from our people in the area that about 400 people were detained," said the militia commander who spoke on condition of anonymity because senior figures in the group are not permitted to give their names.\nHe said that in December, U.S. troops had killed one of the Mahdi Army's top commanders, known as Abu al-Sudour, in Sadr City.\nThe Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported Thursday that al-Maliki was deeply critical of Bush during a briefing with reporters. But the prime minister's office denied he had criticized the administration.\n"The situation would be much better if the United States had immediately sent our security forces more adequate weapons and equipment. If they had committed themselves more and with greater speed, we would have had a lot fewer deaths among Iraqi civilians and American soldiers," the newspaper quoted al-Maliki as saying.\nHowever, the report said the premier stopped short of openly criticizing Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to join the estimated 130,000 already there.\n"We have to see how the situation in the field will go," he was quoted as saying. "We cannot rule out that the situation will drastically improve, allowing U.S. troops to leave the country in great numbers in three to six months."\nThe newspaper reported that the embattled Iraqi leader said Bush capitulated to domestic pressure when he criticized the hanging of former leader Saddam Hussein. It said al-Maliki also struck back at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for suggesting he was in a weak position and on borrowed time.\nHe reportedly said such remarks were giving aid and comfort to militants fighting to drive out U.S. troops and unseat his government.\nHowever, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh dismissed the reported criticism of the Bush government.\n"The news circulated by the media about the Iraqi prime minister's declaration regarding relations with American administration are baseless," he said, according to Iraqi state television.