The Iraq Army plans to redeploy forces from quiet
provinces to Baghdad.
Officials said the army has been ordered to move three brigades from
provinces in the north and south to Baghdad, Middle East Newsline reported. They said the provinces were
located in the autonomous region of Kurdistan and southern Iraq.
"It takes time because it's not an easy task," Iraqi Defense Ministry
spokesman Mohammed Al Askari said.
Officials said the United States has pressed the government of Prime
Minister Nouri Al Maliki to bolster the army in Baghdad. They said Iraqi
forces would be responsible for the bulk of counter-insurgency operations in
central Baghdad.
At this point, officials said, most of the army units allocated for
redeployment were composed of Kurdish soldiers. They said the new
brigades — which would increase the Iraqi military presence in Baghdad to
20,000 — could remain in the city for months.
"I have no details about the participation," Kurdish General Assembly
deputy speaker Aref Tayfor, based in Irbil, said. "But if these [Kurdish]
forces participated, it would be at a limited level."
The U.S. military has demanded that Al Maliki order a raid of Shi'ite
strongholds in Baghdad, particularly Sadr City. Sadr City was said to serve
as the headquarters of the Mahdi Army, the militia led by Iranian-sponsored
cleric Moqtada Sadr.
Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the number two U.S. commander in Iraq, said
the lack of sufficient Iraqi forces led to the failure of previous efforts
to stabilize Baghdad. In a briefing on Sunday, Odierno cited Operation
Together Forward, launched in June 2006 and designed to quell the Sunni
insurgency in the Iraqi capital.
"I think what happened was, is, we overestimated the availability of
Iraqi security forces initially," Odierno said. "We didn't have enough here.
So we have to be able to make sure we have enough forces, Iraqi and
coalition, in order to do it this time."
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has launched an offensive in an Al Qaida
haven in Iraq.
Officials said 1,000 U.S. soldiers have been operating in a
search-and-destroy counter-insurgency operation in the Diyala province north
of Baghdad. They said about 400 Iraq Army troops have joined the mission,
which began on Jan. 4 and focused on Al Qaida and Sunni insurgency
strongholds.
Iraqi and U.S. troops have raided numerous suspected Al Qaida safe
houses in the search for weapons and insurgents. Officials said Sunni
fighters have demonstrated significant resistance and blocked and sabotaged
roads and bridges in Diyala.
[On Saturday, the Iraq Army launched an offensive in Baghdad and
reported the killing of 30 insurgents. Officials said the army has assigned
20,000 troops to the operation, with the U.S. military to supply air power.]
Officials said Diyala has been one of three main havens for the Sunni
insurgency, including Al Qaida. The size of the province along with
sectarian strife have hampered efforts to stabilize Diyala.
The U.S. military has also been helping the battle against Al Qaida in
the Anbar province, along the borders of Jordan and Syria. On Jan. 4, an
Iraqi Sunni tribal leader reported the killing of five Al Qaida fighters,
including the cell leader, identified as a Yemeni national.
The tribal leader, Hamid Farhan, said his fighters were in control of
most
of the Anbar province. The United States has helped organize the Al Anbar
Rescue Council in an attempt to identify and eliminate Al Qaida strongholds
and operatives.
