Iraq Press Roundup

The Kurdish Al Taakhi newspaper reported Friday on U.S. security firm Blackwater’s position in Iraq.

It said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on U.S. officials to replace Blackwater with another after its employees were accused of killing 10 Iraqi civilians this week.

A U.S. Defense Department spokesman said 7,300 private security workers are in Iraq under contract to the State Department. The report quoted a U.S. military official calling for a careful and “transparent” investigation into the alleged Blackwater incident.

Al Mada reported Friday that the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced the killing of one suspected terrorist and the arrest of 51 others during operation in different areas of Iraq.

Meanwhile, an improvised explosive device was defused in Baghdad, two were defused in Mosul and three in Ramadi.

In Diyala province, police said Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. forces, arrested seven suspected al-Qaida militants.

"Two of those arrested have Saudi passports,” the report quoted the Iraqi police as saying.

A Diyala operations spokesman also said 16 suspected terrorists were killed in a "joint operation." Separately, four civilians were wounded in a suicide explosion.

Police in Diyala also said al-Qaida had taken over a village after clashes between militants and 300 residents of the village last Monday and Tuesday. According to the paper, some residents were able to escape and inform police of the takeover.

"Iraqi forces, including tribesmen supported by U.S. forces, backed by U.S. helicopters clashed with al-Qaida members which resulted in freeing the village,” the newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, Multi-National Forces arrested three suspected terrorists and found several weapons storages outside Baghdad.

Al Sabah newspaper reported on a briefing by Qassim Ata, an Iraqi government spokesman.

The brief detailed gains of the last two weeks: 15 terrorists killed, 206 wanted figures arrested, 121 suspects arrested, a kidnapped family freed, 30 freed from kidnappers, 108 IEDs controlled, four car bombs defused and three districts in south Baghdad secured.