Friday, September 15, 2006
U.S. Ambassador - oil infrastructure attacks down
Security
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said on Thursday that attacks on Iraq's oil facilities and other public facilities have decreased, however, he said the attacks were still having a severe effect on the country's economy and power generation. Attacks on such facilities fell to an average of two per week in the latest quarter, compared to five weekly during the previous three months, Bolton told the U.N. Security Council in a status report on Iraq.
Insurgent and sectarian tensions had increased, spurring more killings, kidnappings and attacks on civilians and driving more people from their homes, he said. "The insurgency remains potent and viable, although its visibility has been overshadowed by the increase in sectarian violence it has sought to foment," he said. In the U.S. drive to gradually turn security over to Iraqi forces, more than 115,000 Iraqi soldiers, 118,000 police and 65,000 other Interior Ministry forces had been trained, Bolton said.
Insurgent and sectarian tensions had increased, spurring more killings, kidnappings and attacks on civilians and driving more people from their homes, he said. "The insurgency remains potent and viable, although its visibility has been overshadowed by the increase in sectarian violence it has sought to foment," he said. In the U.S. drive to gradually turn security over to Iraqi forces, more than 115,000 Iraqi soldiers, 118,000 police and 65,000 other Interior Ministry forces had been trained, Bolton said.
