Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (2nd L) walks with school officials after visiting the Baghdad University in Baghdad, November 15, 2006. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY
REUTERS/HO
(Adds further Abizaid comments) By Claudia Parsons and Alastair Macdonald BAGHDAD, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The Iraqi cabinet split on Wednesday over the fate of dozens of hostages snatched in a mass kidnap that raised new fears that sectarian militias can defy the government at will on the streets of Baghdad. With momentum growing in Washington for a change in tack to force Iraqis to impose order and bring U.S. troops home, Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki played down Tuesday's daylight raid on a government building by gunmen in police uniforms. He said most of those seized had now been released and the kidnappers would be found and punished. But the Sunni minister for universities whose staff were snatched said between 70 and 80 people were still missing and were possibly held in a Shi'ite militia stronghold. He said he would boycott government activities until they were found. "I have suspended my participation as a minister with the government until those people who have been kidnapped are released," Higher Education Minister Abd Dhiab told Reuters. Several families, all Sunnis, said they had not heard from kidnapped relatives and feared the worst. The father of one said: "I'm sure the next place I see him will be the morgue." But the minister also said Sunnis, as well as Shi'ites, were among 68 people so far freed, joining other senior officials in playing down indications that the raid had a sectarian motive. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the ministry was wrong to say over 100 people had been kidnapped. He said 37 had been released and only a handful were still missing. Several senior policemen were taken in for questioning after the raid, which raised questions about the extent of complicity between the U.S.-trained security forces and Shi'ite militias. Briefing senators in Washington, the U.S. commander for the Middle East said Iraqi forces had responded well on Tuesday and police commanders had been dismissed after the kidnap. General John Abizaid said he was optimistic Iraq could be stabilised as U.S. forces trained and equipped their Iraqi counterparts. But Abizaid, who met Maliki in Baghdad on Monday, cautioned against setting timetables for a U.S. departure -- an idea the new Democratic leadership in the U.S. Congress has floated. He also said more U.S. troops were not needed and that violence had eased since August, when he warned of civil war. It was too early to say Iraq had "turned the corner", however, and bloodshed was still at "unacceptably high" levels, Abizaid said. BODY COUNT Another 55 unidentified bodies, most of them tortured and shot, were found in Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. More than 40 other deaths were reported, including those of six U.S. soldiers and 12 people killed by a car bomb in Baghdad. Maliki played down the mass kidnap. He has said militia groups nominally loyal to fellow Shi'ites in government can be dealt with through negotiation in good time. "What happened was not terrorism, rather it was due to dispute and conflict between militias from one side or another," he said in televised remarks. He later said the government's response had been strong and vowed to catch those responsible. Democrats who triumphed over President George W. Bush's Republicans in last week's congressional elections have said they want to start pulling out some of the 141,000 U.S. troops from Iraq within four to six months to increase pressure on Iraqi leaders to provide security. Recruiting and training over 300,000 Iraqis as soldiers and police has been a major part of U.S. strategy. But question marks hang over their competence and cohesion in the face of forces that are pushing Iraq towards civil war. Iraqi leaders and U.S. commanders accept that the police force is heavily infiltrated by the Shi'ite militias the government has sworn to get off the streets. Among proposals to Bush have been suggestions from his ally Britain for talks with neighbouring Iran, which Washington says is backing Shi'ite militias and fomenting violence in Iraq. A senior State Department official told senators: "We are prepared in principle to discuss Iranian activities in Iraq." David Satterfield said the timing of any talks with Iran, a determined adversary of the United States, was under review. (Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, Mussab Al-Khairalla and Ross Colvin in Baghdad and Kristin Roberts in Washington)
