Iraqi PM vows to use "iron fist" against Basra gangs

BASRA, Iraq, May 31 (Reuters) Iraq's prime minister vowed today to crack down with an ''iron fist'' on gangs threatening security in the oil-rich city of Basra, which is in the grip of a power struggle between Shi'ite factions.

Nuri al-Maliki, in an address to local officials broadcast live on state television, also said he would order his security forces to come up with an urgent plan to restore security in Iraq's second city.

''We will beat with an iron fist on the heads of gangs who are manipulating security,'' the Shi'ite Islamist told the gathering.

''Security is first, second and third. This must be said,'' he said after holding talks with the governor of Basra province and other local leaders.

Security has deteriorated sharply in Basra over the past year as rival factions from the Shi'ite Muslim majority tussle for a share of the power handed to Shi'ites by the US after Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated administration was toppled.

Basra, whose oil accounts for virtually all of Iraq's state revenues, is a major prize for all parties.

Maliki, who took office on May 20 at the helm of a grand coalition of Shi'ites, minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds, travelled to Basra a day after he told Reuters