(Adds U.S. soldiers killed, bodies found, Congress)

By Claudia Parsons

BAGHDAD, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The Iraqi government plans to bring in troop reinforcements to take part in a major security plan for Baghdad but a U.S. general said on Sunday the key to success would be a balanced approach rather than sheer force.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced a major security plan for Baghdad on Saturday, vowing to crush illegal armed groups "regardless of sect or politics" -- suggesting he may be ready to tackle militias loyal to his fellow Shi'ites, as demanded by Washington and the once dominant Sunni minority.

Sectarian violence is killing hundreds of people a week, mostly in Baghdad, and securing the capital is seen as crucial to stopping Iraq's descent into full-scale civil war.

Maliki's announcement comes as U.S. President George W. Bush reshuffles his commanders and diplomats in Iraq and prepares to unveil a new strategy next week that officials say may include a proposal to add 20,000 U.S. troops in Baghdad.

But, as the deaths of five more Americans were announced in Iraq, the new Democratic Congress warned it make give any such suggestion a tough ride compared to Bush's Republican allies.

Nancy Pelosi, new speaker of the House of Representatives, said the previous, Republican-controlled Congress had given Bush a "blank cheque". She and the Democratic Senate majority leader wrote to Bush last week urging him to begin a withdrawal from Iraq.

Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, the new commander of U.S. combat troops in Iraq, said a previous U.S. operation launched in August to secure Baghdad had flaws.

"We were able to clear the areas. We were not able to hold the areas," he told reporters. "You have to go after both Shia and Sunni neighbourhoods and 'Together Forward' was focused mostly on Sunni neighbourhoods and we've got to do both."

"We have to have a balanced approach about going after both Shia and Sunni extremists," he said.

Odierno said U.S. commanders had also "overestimated the availability of Iraqi security forces" in the earlier operation and said U.S. troops would also remain in neighbourhoods to ensure Iraqi forces did not pursue their own sectarian agendas.

TWO BRIGADES

Sami al-Askari, an adviser to Maliki, said two brigades from northern Iraq, comprising mostly Kurdish soldiers, and one from the mainly Shi'ite south, would be sent to Baghdad to help implement the plan. Iraqi brigades number around 1,200 soldiers.

The plan foresees Iraqi forces taking responsibility for inner Baghdad while U.S. forces will be in charge of the surrounding areas, Askari said. Odierno said that he hoped U.S. troops could be mainly on the outskirts by summer.

Askari said the government was determined to crack down on militia infiltration of the armed forces.

"It takes time because it's not an easy task ... (but) without it the people will not trust the security forces."

Home to more than one Iraqi in four and with a rich mix of communities, Baghdad has seen heavy bloodshed and tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in fear of attacks.

Police found 17 death squad victims around Baghdad on Sunday. An interior ministry source reported attacks in several Sunni neighbourhoods on Sunday, though it was not immediately clear who was responsible or whether there were any casualties.

Washington has identified the Mehdi Army militia of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr as the biggest threat to security.

Sadr, whose supporters played a key role in Maliki's appointment as a compromise prime minister in April, denies supporting violence. Maliki has repeatedly rejected criticism that he has not confronted the Mehdi Army before now, saying the Shi'ite armed groups can be tamed through political dialogue.

Odierno said U.S. forces would leave dealing with Sadr to Iraqi authorities. "I'm not sure we take him down," he said.

"There are some extreme elements (of the Mehdi Army) ... and we will go after them. I will allow the government to decide whether (Sadr) is part of it or not. He is currently working within the political system."

Several hundred people demonstrated on Sunday in the Mehdi Army stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, angry at what they said was a U.S. raid there on Saturday night. The U.S. military said it had no information on reports of such a raid.

Odierno said he believed 80 percent of militia fighters could be integrated into the regular security forces, while a hard core of 20 percent needed to be captured or killed.

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