Militants threaten to kill Iraq PM

Islamist militants threatened to assassinate Iraq’s interim PM Iyad Allawi on Wednesday, just hours after they claimed the beheading of...

Islamist militants threatened to assassinate Iraq’s interim PM Iyad Allawi on Wednesday, just hours after they claimed the beheading of a S Korean hostage. ‘‘As for you, Allawi — sorry, the democratically elected PM — we have found for you a useful poison and a sure sword,’’ said a taped voice, said to be that of Jordanian militant Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, on an Islamist website. ‘‘We will pursue our mission to the end,’’ said the voice.

It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the taped voice, posted a day after US forces found the S Korean’s decapitated body and launched an air strike on a suspected safe house of Zarqawi’s group in Falluja. A senior US military official said on Wednesday that 20 foreign fighters were killed in the strike.

Militants also warned Allawi on Wednesday not to implement emergency laws in Iraq, saying they would attack anyone involved in such measures. Allawi has said the national security committee was considering declaring emergency laws in “some areas” as part of measures to quell violence in the country.

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“We warn you against this crime which you are carrying out on behalf of your occupation masters…we will strike with great power and with an iron fist against all those who bless it…” said the group in a video tape aired by Dubai-based Arab satellite television Al Arabiya. The group claims to represent Iraqi resistance and jihad factions.

Allawi has asked NATO to help train the country’s security forces and provide other ‘‘technical assistance’’ to his interim government, an alliance official said on Wednesday. The official added that a decision on how to respond would not be taken before next week’s NATO summit in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun denounced the killing of Kim Sun-Il and said his country would still send more troops to Iraq, rather than bow to terrorism. — (Reuters)

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