Heads of Iraqi army and police in Basra reassigned

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi army and police commanders in the southern city of Basra were reassigned today in what the government described as routine staff movements but which came amid controversy over troops' performance during a recent offensive.

At a news conference, security spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta Mussawi said army Lt. Gen. Mohan Freiji and police Maj. Gen. Abdul Jalil Khalaf had been scheduled to take up new posts after six months in their positions. They were appointed to their jobs last fall as British forces withdrew from their base in Basra and left security for the city in Iraqi hands.

Mussawi said Freiji and Khalaf "are known for their efforts and dedication" and would be given promotions and jobs in Baghdad.

Khalaf also denied that he and Freiji were being pushed out of their jobs, which he said were set to expire April 15.

"We feel we have fulfilled our jobs and worked to build the pillars of security," Khalaf said in a telephone interview. "I think our mission . . . is done, and we have done it very well."

More than 600 civilians have died in fighting since the offensive against Shiite militias in Basra was launched March 25. Skirmishes continue in Shiite militia strongholds, including parts of Basra and Baghdad's Sadr City district.

U.S. military officials have criticized the planning for the offensive, and earlier this week the Iraqi government said it had fired 1,300 soldiers and police, mostly from Basra, for refusing to fight during the operation.

In Basra today, an unmanned U.S. Predator aircraft fired a Hellfire missile on five "criminals" who had attacked an Iraqi military patrol with rocket-propelled grenades, a U.S. military statement said. It said four of the suspects were killed. Their vehicle, which was suspected of carrying weapons and ammunition, was destroyed by a second missile, the U.S. statement said.

Police and hospital officials in Sadr City said two people had been killed in overnight clashes there.

The U.S. military announced the deaths of two Marines in Al Anbar province, bringing to at least 4,037 the number of U.S. forces killed in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003, according to the independent website icasualties.org.

Also today, the U.S. military released from detention an Associated Press photographer it had held for two years without charge. Bilal Hussein went free after the military accepted the findings of an Iraqi judicial committee, which said an amnesty law passed by parliament in February applied to his case.

Hussein and AP had denied accusations that Hussein might have collaborated with insurgents.

tina.susman@latimes.com

Special correspondents in Basra and Baghdad contributed to this report.