Iraqi police fired for failing to fight

BAGHDAD, March 31 (UPI) -- Thousands of Iraqi police officers who allegedly refused to fight against Shiite militias have been relieved of duty, Iraqi's interior minister said Monday.

The decision by Jawad al-Boulani covers units operating in Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad and the predominately Shiite areas in southern Iraq, including Basra.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered Iraqi forces to crack down on militias affiliated with cleric Moqtada Sadr and other influential Shiite leaders, sparking widespread violence that rippled throughout the country last week.

Thousands of Iraqi police officers refused to fight the militias and two Iraqi army regiments allegedly joined the militias in Baghdad, the Iraqi daily Azzaman reported.

The move, the newspaper said, may further boost the ranks of the Shiite militias as those police officers relieved of duty may join them.