By DPA
Baghdad : Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has announced a new military offensive against the Al Qaeda network in northern Iraq which saw one of the deadliest terror attacks over the weekend.
Speaking Saturday in Mosul in the northern province of Ninawat, al-Maliki said the time was ripe to begin a “decisive battle” against terrorism in northern Iraq, Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported.
The prime minister reviewed the security situation in Mosul with the military commanders and ways to eliminate the terrorist elements operating in the region.
Armed groups and supporters of the regime of the deposed and executed Saddam Hussein have been using the region as a springboard for terror acts against the people of Iraq, al-Maliki said.
Attacks on Baghdad’s pet and bird markets Friday – carried out by two female suicide bombers – left at least 84 people dead and 153 injured, hospital and police sources said Saturday.
On Saturday, at least eight people were killed and 17 wounded, including militants of the Al Qaeda terrorist network, in separate attacks.