Baghdad: The Iraqi prime minister put his nation on its highest alert for terror attacks, as insurgents hammer Iraqi security forces preparing to take over for a US combat mission that formally ends on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said Iraqi intelligence indicated that an Al Qaida front group and members of Saddam Hussain's outlawed Baath party are collaborating to launch attacks "to create fear and chaos and kill more innocents."
"We direct the Iraqi forces, police and army and other security forces, to take the highest alert and precautionary measures to foil this criminal planning," Al Maliki said in a statement to state-run television on Friday night. He did not give details of the intelligence.
The alert was issued days before the August 31 deadline for US forces to end combat operations after seven years of war and transition to primarily training and advising Iraqi troops. American troops can still go on combat patrols with Iraqi soldiers and police if asked.
However, the primary responsibility for protecting the nation is in the hands of an Iraqi security force that has largely failed to win the country's confidence.
The prime minister seemed to recognise that security forces alone would not be able to stop the attacks, and he appealed to citizens to be vigilant.
"We call on the nation to have open eyes to monitor the movements of those terrorists and keep such criminal gangs from halting the progress of our nation," he said.
