Iraq says two dozen Shiite fighters have surrendered

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Twenty-seven Shiite fighters have surrendered themselves in the southern province of Maysan since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki gave them a seven-day deadline, a top Iraqi official said Friday.

Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari told AFP that the militiamen had surrendered through their local tribal chiefs.

Maliki on Wednesday gave a seven-day deadline to militiamen to turn themselves in after he ordered a crackdown in Maysan and its capital city of Amara on June 19.

Before the start of the assault, he had given a four-day similar deadline to the fighters.

Since the operation began, some 150 people have been detained and large caches of weapons such as guns, mortars and landmines have been recovered, according...