Iraqi PM vows to impose order in al Qaeda haven

By Khalid al-Ansary

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed on Thursday to impose law and order in northern Iraq and said an offensive against al Qaeda militants would end the "dark days" of shootings and bomb attacks.

Maliki flew to the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to supervise a push against the Sunni Islamist militant group in what the U.S. military says is its last major urban stronghold.

Buoyed by the success of a recent operation against Shi'ite militias in the southern oil city of Basra, the prime minister said Iraq could not just rely on other countries for help, an apparent reference to the large U.S. military presence in Iraq.

"We have come to Nineveh to restore security," Maliki told reporters in Mosul. "Today, law and order is our message. We want to end the suffering in this province."

Iraqi officials hope the campaign, which started on Saturday and which is led by Iraqi security forces, will deliver a knockout blow to al Qaeda fighters where they have regrouped in Mosul and the surrounding province of Nineveh.

Maliki spoke after meeting senior military officials in Mosul to draw up plans to hunt down the militants.

"We have been through dark days, days marked by outlaws and groups with guns ... but this operation will succeed," he said.

Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Mohammed al-Askari said one of the objectives was to round up wanted insurgents.