The U.S. military has reported a sharp drop in
insurgency strikes in Iraq.
Officials said the U.S. military has reported a significant decrease in
the number of attacks in the Sunni Triangle. They said the rate of U.S.
casualties has also dropped since November 2004 as the result of improved military
intelligence and operational response.
"We are seeing the first sustained drop in the number of Sunni attacks,"
an official said. "There seems to be less people willing to carry out these
strikes."
Iraqi officials and the U.S. military have asserted that up to 80
insurgents were killed in an attack on their suspected base near Lake
Tharthar on Tuesday, Middle East Newsline reported. The operation dealt the harshest blow to the rebel movement since the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The two-hour air and ground operation was
conducted by the Joint Coordination Center, a rapid reaction force that
contains Iraqi and U.S. forces. There were no U.S. casualties reported.
"We have killed 80 fighters in a battle that lasted 17 hours," Iraqi
Col. Mohammed Ibrahim, an officer with the Joint Coordination Center, said.
"We lost 12 of our men including four officers."
Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commander of the First Marine Expeditionary
Force, said insurgents have averaged about 10 attacks per day in the Sunni
Triangle over the past few months. Sattler said the military reported 25
attacks per day in October 2004.
"They're way down on their attempts, and even more on their
effectiveness," Sattler said.
The lethality of attacks against U.S. forces has also decreased.
Officials said that less than two attacks per day led to either the killing
or injury of U.S. troops or the damaging of their equipment.
The focus of the Sunni insurgency remains the Anbar province, officials
said. But they said the decline in attacks included that province as
well as along the Iraqi-Syrian border.
The decline in attacks was also attributed to the rising capabilities of
Iraq's military and security forces. Last week, Iraqi police captured 30
suspected Sunni insurgents in Baladruz, 60 kilometers northeast of Baghdad.
The insurgents were said to have been aligned with Al Qaida and Ansar Al
Islam.
Officials said Sunni insurgents have been taken aback by the rapid
response of U.S. forces. On March 20, 26 insurgents were killed and seven
others were injured when they attacked a coalition force convoy on the
outskirts of Baghdad in the Salman Pak area.
The insurgents were said to have succeeded in disabling the convoy with
rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. But soldiers from the U.S.
convoy's security element, the 617 Military Police Company, maneuvered to
flank the insurgents and kill most of the 50-member insurgency force.
Officials said insurgents retain their capability to conduct
mass-casualty attacks. They said Sunni operatives have produced fewer but
more deadly remote-controlled bombs, often by stringing together several
explosive devices.
