A woman holds up a poster of Iraqi Shi'ite clerics Mohamad al-Hakim (right) and Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during a protest against the detention of Ammar al-Hakim, in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, yesterday. Iraqis took to the streets of Shi'ite towns and cities to protest over the detention by United States troops of the eldest son of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite leaders. - Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters):

United States and Iraqi forces have killed around 400 suspected militants since the start of a major security crackdown in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said yesterday. He visited the command centre for the operation which was launched 10 days ago and urged security forces not to be swayed by sectarian loyalties.

The Shi'ite prime minister is under pressure from Washington to root out Shi'ite militias with as much determination as he has taken on Sunni Arab insurgents.

Friday's brief detention by U.S. forces of the son of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite leaders, could strain his government's relations with Washington.

Maliki told reporters 426 suspected militants had been detained in the crackdown "and around that number have been killed" since it was launched in mid-February. The campaign is regarded as the last chance to prevent all-out civil war.

North of Baghdad, Iraqi troops supported by U.S. aircraft killed "tens" of militants at an insurgent base early yesterday, the Interior Ministry said.

Will be extended

Ministry spokesman Brigadier Abdul-Kareem Khalaf said a large Iraqi force clashed with insurgents in a rural area of Mashahda at dawn. U.S. air strikes destroyed the base.

Maliki said the crackdown would be extended to other provinces once Baghdad was stabilised. "I'm very optimistic about this plan because of the cooperation between the people and the security forces," he said.

A statement from his office said the prime minister reminded security forces to "respect the citizen" during searches. "We will punish all those who ease up on searches involving people from their sect or ethnicity," the statement said.

Washington has called the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the greatest threat to security in Iraq. Sunni Arabs blame it for running death squads with the collusion of police they say are deeply infiltrated by the militias. Sadr denies the charges.

Hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets of Shi'ite towns on Saturday to protest Friday's detention of Ammar al-Hakim. There were no reports of violence. The U.S. military said Ammar al-Hakim was held on Friday because members of his convoy acted suspiciously at a border checkpoint while returning from Iran. He was released after several hours.