Iraqi PM to overhaul security plans after deadly bombings

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki said Monday that he will overhaul security plans and carry out changes in his security personnel after a wave of deadly bomb attacks which killed and wounded hundreds of people. "Now we are about to make changes in the high and middle positions, as well as in the (security) plans," Maliki told reporters in a news conference. Maliki's comments came after a wave of violent attacks in Baghdad and the provinces of Basra and Anbar, which killed some at least 35 people and wounded some 150. Monday's bombings came amid escalation of sectarian tension between the Sunni and Shiite communities, which has been at its highest level since the U.S. troops pulled out from the country at the end of 2011. For five months, the Sunni Muslims have been carrying protests against the Shiite-led government in the Sunni provinces and the Sunni districts in Baghdad. The Sunnis accuse the government of marginalizing them, and claimed that the Shiite-dominated Iraqi security forces were indiscriminately arresting their sons and torturing them. Maliki also blamed his Sunni political opponents for taking part in inciting sectarian tension among Iraqis which generated reprisal killings and warned that he will reveal the names of those who are involved in the current (sectarian) tension.