In speech to parliament, Iraqi prime minister urges politicians from all sides of Iraqi society to support his plan for security in Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says his plan for security in Baghdad will leave no place for militants to hide - not even mosques or schools.

In a speech to parliament Thursday, Mr. Maliki urged politicians from all sides of Iraqi society to support his plan for security in the capital.


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He rejected suggestions that the plan is a last chance to end sectarian and insurgent violence, saying "the battle between us and terrorists is open-ended and continuous."

Top U.S. officials say besides Sunni insurgents, militiamen loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also are responsible for the spiraling cycle of violence in the country.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi has called the occupation of Iraq an "idiot decision." The Shi'ite official was speaking today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

On Wednesday, the U.S. military said Iraqi and American troops killed at least 30 insurgents and detained 27 suspects during fierce fighting in the city's Haifa Street region, a known Sunni Arab stronghold

In another operation in Baghdad, the U.S. military says troops detained 10 terrorists after witnesses reported seeing men loading weapons into a car. They also seized four weapons caches.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.