Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Civilian deaths decraese in Baghdad as attacks increase in other areas
Security
(Reuters) Civilian deaths and car bombs have fallen sharply in Baghdad since a U.S.-backed crackdown began a month ago, but attacks outside the capital were rising as militants change tactics, Iraqi officials said on Wednesday. In an upbeat assessment of the first 30 days of the security plan, Iraqi military spokesman Brigadier Qassim Moussawi said the number of Iraqis killed by violence in Baghdad since February 14 was 265, down from 1,440 killed in the previous month.
The number of car bombings, a favorite weapon used by suspected Sunni Arab militants fighting the Shi'ite-led government, was down to 36 from 56, Moussawi told reporters. But as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops flow into the capital, attacks in the area surrounding Baghdad have increased, he said, without providing specific figures.
The number of car bombings, a favorite weapon used by suspected Sunni Arab militants fighting the Shi'ite-led government, was down to 36 from 56, Moussawi told reporters. But as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops flow into the capital, attacks in the area surrounding Baghdad have increased, he said, without providing specific figures.
There are about 100,000 Iraqi and U.S. forces deployed in Baghdad under a plan to sweep neighborhoods and rid streets of Sunni Arab militants and Shi'ite militias. The U.S. military says the Mehdi Army Shi'ite militia is the greatest threat to security in Iraq and has conducted sweeps in the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Sadr City. So far Shi'ite militias have been lying low and many of their leading figures are believed to have fled the capital, a development that has coincided with a decline in execution-style killings.
But violence has been on the rise elsewhere, including in western Anbar province, a Sunni militant stronghold where al Qaeda and local tribes are engaged in a power struggle, and in Diyala, a religiously mixed area northeast of the capital.
But violence has been on the rise elsewhere, including in western Anbar province, a Sunni militant stronghold where al Qaeda and local tribes are engaged in a power struggle, and in Diyala, a religiously mixed area northeast of the capital.
Labels: Al Anbar, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Baghdad, Brigadier Qassim Moussawi, civilian deaths, Diyala, Mahdi Army, tribes
