Iraqi PM says nation still faces threats

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraq's prime minister is urging his security forces to step up their vigilance against violence, saying the country "remains in the circle of danger."

Nouri al-Maliki's comments Sunday come as the last 33,000 U.S. troops in Iraq prepare to leave by the end of the year as required by a 2008 security agreement.

Al-Maliki said the continued threat shows that insurgents still want to prevent Iraq from becoming a stable nation. He did not elaborate.

But over the last several weeks his government has detained 615 people that al-Maliki says are members of Iraq's former ruling Baath Party that was ousted from power in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Sunnis have accused al-Maliki, who is Shiite, of cracking down on Baathists as an excuse to exert political pressure on them.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-06-ML-Iraq/id-b3fa302fedae43cdb567c5dc9dd82f06

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