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Iraq's militias are making their way into working with US and Iraqi security forces to enhance security in the war-torn country, the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) said on Wednesday.
"There are militia units being formed, policies that should be followed and potentials that need to be utilized, and work is on its way toward that direction," current IGC President Abdul Azizal-Hakim told a press conference.
He was replying to a question raised by a reporter if the militias serving five major Iraqi parties are being united and prepared to take part in fighting terrorism.
Reports said the United States is planning to set up a paramilitary battalion of around 800 armed Iraqi men to help the ongoing battle with terrorists operating in Iraq.
The force is said to consist of fighters from the Iraqi National Accord, Iraqi National Congress, Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
"People will know the details once all the concerned matters are settled, and there will be a real participation for any one who wants to take part in the security issue," said al-Hakim, who is also the SCIRI president.
He meanwhile commands the Badir militia, the armed wing of the powerful Shiite party.
The move to involve Iraqi militias in the joint anti-terror campaign came after US officials admitted that the attacks against civilian targets were dramatically increasing while anti-coalition actions were becoming less.
The US military used to repeatedly emphasize its ban on unlicensed weapons and insisted that anyone who wants to take part in maintaining security should join the Iraqi army or police force.
US troops encountered several clashes with some Shiite militias while trying to disarm them.
(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2003)
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