Diyala Update

Hmm. Think these two developments about the ongoing combat operation in Diyala -- actually dubbed Omens of Prosperity by Nouri al-Maliki -- are related? Item one, courtesy of McClatchy:

The Iraqi government on Monday suspended a massive military operation in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, offering a limited amnesty to insurgents who surrender by the end of the week.

"It's a very clear message to the insurgents that there will be no other chance," Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Kareem Khalaf said.

And item two, courtesy of subscription-only IraqSlogger:

The top security official in the notoriously restive Diyala Province, site of a recent security crackdown, has been sacked by the governorate’s elected governing body, according to a report in Arabic on an Iraqi news website.

It seems that police chief Ghanim al-Qurayshi was, according to his accuser, "sacking a number of officers and police employees without justification, and working to rebuild the Ba'athist element in the police forces." Now, that in turn sounds like the sort of thing a sectarian Shiite official would accuse a Sunni of doing, but who knows.

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