Thread: Iraq/Dinar News until 5/23/07 Midnight CST

Baghdad deaths fall after security drive
By Steve Negus

Published: March 14 2007 17:33 | Last updated: March 14 2007 17:33

US and Iraqi officials on Wenesday claimed that civilian deaths had declined precipitously in Baghdad since the push to secure the capital began a month ago.

The Americans acknowledged, however, that car bombs remained a big threat that could restart the cycle of violence, and said they were concentrating operations in areas where such weapons were believed to be assembled.

Brigadier Qassim Moussawi, Iraqi military spokesman, said the number of Iraqis killed by violence in Baghdad in the 30 days since Operation Enforcing the Law began was 265, down from 1,440 killed in the previous month. He said that the number of attacks in surrounding provinces had increased, although he did not provide figures.

Major General William Caldwell, US military spokesman, meanwhile said: “Murders and executions have come down by over 50 per cent [in Baghdad].”

He acknowledged there had been a slight climb in the number killed in the last seven days, but not as much as at the equivalent point in the cycle of previous Baghdad security plans. “This past week is normally the week in which the number of murders goes back to their previous levels,” he said.

Stepped-up operations by US and Iraqi forces appear to have had much more impact on death-squad activity than on car bombings, however.

Brig Moussawi said the number of car bombs had declined in the last month from to 36 from 56, but blasts attributed to Sunni insurgents, such as a March 6 pedestrian suicide attack on a procession of Shia pilgrims, which killed nearly 120 people, continue to take a high toll.

Even before the offensive, the radical Shia militiamen who are believed to be responsible for most such killings around the capital began disappearing from the streets, and some Shia claim this has left them vulnerable to Sunni extremists.

“If the high-profile car bombs can be stopped or brought down to a much lower level, we’ll just see an incredible difference in the city overall,” Maj Gen Caldwell said. “The high-profile car bombs is the one [form of attack] we’re really focused on because that’s what will start that whole cycle of violence again.”

Many of the car bombs detonated in Baghdad are believed to be assembled in the predominantly Sunni parts of the belt of farmland surrounding the city, and US forces have in recent days stepped up operations in the capital’s southern outskirts.

US troops have also been moving into areas outside Baghdad that have also been hit hard by sectarian violence, such as Diala province, where 700 US troops equipped with Stryker armoured vehicles redeployed on Wednesday.

The full 21,500-strong force that was earmarked for Iraq as part of the US troop surge announced in January will not be in place for several more months, Maj Gen Caldwell said.

Two of five brigades were in place and a third was currently deploying through Kuwait, he said.

Originally Posted by michael16

Baghdad deaths fall after security drive
By Steve Negus

Published: March 14 2007 17:33 | Last updated: March 14 2007 17:33

US and Iraqi officials on Wenesday claimed that civilian deaths had declined precipitously in Baghdad since the push to secure the capital began a month ago.

The Americans acknowledged, however, that car bombs remained a big threat that could restart the cycle of violence, and said they were concentrating operations in areas where such weapons were believed to be assembled.

Brigadier Qassim Moussawi, Iraqi military spokesman, said the number of Iraqis killed by violence in Baghdad in the 30 days since Operation Enforcing the Law began was 265, down from 1,440 killed in the previous month. He said that the number of attacks in surrounding provinces had increased, although he did not provide figures.

Major General William Caldwell, US military spokesman, meanwhile said: “Murders and executions have come down by over 50 per cent [in Baghdad].”

He acknowledged there had been a slight climb in the number killed in the last seven days, but not as much as at the equivalent point in the cycle of previous Baghdad security plans. “This past week is normally the week in which the number of murders goes back to their previous levels,” he said.

Stepped-up operations by US and Iraqi forces appear to have had much more impact on death-squad activity than on car bombings, however.

Brig Moussawi said the number of car bombs had declined in the last month from to 36 from 56, but blasts attributed to Sunni insurgents, such as a March 6 pedestrian suicide attack on a procession of Shia pilgrims, which killed nearly 120 people, continue to take a high toll.

Even before the offensive, the radical Shia militiamen who are believed to be responsible for most such killings around the capital began disappearing from the streets, and some Shia claim this has left them vulnerable to Sunni extremists.

“If the high-profile car bombs can be stopped or brought down to a much lower level, we’ll just see an incredible difference in the city overall,” Maj Gen Caldwell said. “The high-profile car bombs is the one [form of attack] we’re really focused on because that’s what will start that whole cycle of violence again.”

Many of the car bombs detonated in Baghdad are believed to be assembled in the predominantly Sunni parts of the belt of farmland surrounding the city, and US forces have in recent days stepped up operations in the capital’s southern outskirts.

US troops have also been moving into areas outside Baghdad that have also been hit hard by sectarian violence, such as Diala province, where 700 US troops equipped with Stryker armoured vehicles redeployed on Wednesday.

The full 21,500-strong force that was earmarked for Iraq as part of the US troop surge announced in January will not be in place for several more months, Maj Gen Caldwell said.

Two of five brigades were in place and a third was currently deploying through Kuwait, he said.

Was there another link or is this old news? Published: March 14 2007 17:33 | Last updated: March 14 2007 17:33. We can only hope that the decline in the death of civilians still holds good today!