Iraqi rebels are told to surrender or die

The top US commander in Iraq today urged Saddam loyalists to lay down arms and ”embrace the future,”, saying they will otherwise end up either dead or in custody.

“We will be relentless in the pursuit of these targets,” Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of US led coalition forces, said in Baghdad.

But the US plan for transferring power to a sovereign Iraqi government through an appointed legislature was in trouble because of vehement opposition from Iraq’s foremost Shiite cleric and his followers.

Aides have said Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani might issue a religious edict, or fatwa, declaring the US plan illegitimate if his demand for direct elections are ignored.

The warning came as an estimated 30,000 Shiite Muslims rallied in Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, in support of al-Sistani.

The turnout in Basra yesterday was the biggest protest yet against the power transfer plan, which calls for a provisional legislature to be selected by 18 regional caucuses. The legislature would then choose a new, sovereign administration to take office by July 1.

Amid the political setback, the US military has reported considerable success in controlling the insurgency in central Iraq since the December 13 capture of Saddam Hussein.

“The former regime is never going to come back. We are focused. We are effective in the pursuit of these individuals. We are going to capture them or kill, as is our mission,” Sanchez said.

He said daily attacks on US led coalition troops have fallen to about 15 a day compared to a few dozen previously.

The US military has captured or killed all but 13 of the 55 most wanted figures from Saddam’s regime. Sanchez said 360 more anti-coalition guerrillas were captured in 150 operations this week.

Still, small attacks continue to occur. A roadside bomb in Baghdad injured two children today. It blew up after US soldiers approached a suspicious device to inspect it.

“The timing is perfect for the anti-coalition forces and former regime elements to make a decision that it is time to embrace the future,” Sanchez said.

“Those that remain at large, given the pace that we are moving toward sovereignty, it is time for them to lay down their arms,” he said.

The United States is pushing the provisional parliament plan because it says security is too poor and voter records too incomplete for fair elections.

Al-Sistani and other clerics want direct elections, fearing the caucuses may be rigged to keep Shiites out of power.