BAGHDAD, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a reshuffle of top security officers after recent attacks left hundreds of people killed and wounded, a government statement said on Wednesday.
"The Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces Nuri al-Maliki today after consultation with security officials issued decrees of changes in the operations command and the commands of divisions," Maliki's office said in a statement on its website.
The reshuffle included the stepping down of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Hashim, the current commander of Baghdad Operations Command responsible for security of the Iraqi capital, according to the NINA news agency.
Hashim will be replaced by Staff Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Kamil al-Shammari, commander of the Army's 10th Division stationed in the southern province of Maysan, NINA said.
Two days ago, Maliki vowed that he will overhaul security plans and carry out changes in his security personnel after repeated waves of attacks killed and wounded hundreds of Iraqis.
"Now we are about to make changes in the high and middle positions, as well as in the (security) plans," Maliki told reporters on Monday.
Iraq is witnessing surging tensions between its Sunni and Shiite communities. The sectarian conflict is at its worst since the U.S. troops pulled out of the country at the end of 2011 as the Sunni Muslims have been protesting the Shiite-led government for five months.
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