Iraqi Islamist Group Urges Resistance To Government

Iraqi security forces carrying out an inspection in Al-Najaf on January 8 (epa) January 9, 2007 -- In an Internet posting, the leader of an Al-Qaeda-backed Islamist body in Iraq has urged followers to resist a proposed government security operation in Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has vowed to crush illegal armed groups in Baghdad "regardless of sect or politics."

But the so-called Islamic State in Iraq said the plan was an Iranian ploy against Sunni Muslims.

The group's leader, Sheikh Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, urged followers to be ready to "repulse the attacks."

(Reuters)

Sectarian Iraq

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SUNNI, SHI'A: Iraq is riven along sectarian lines, faults that frequently produce violent clashes and are a constant source of tension. Sectarian concerns drive much of Iraqi politics and are the main threat to the country's fragile security environment.

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