"IED attacks and corresponding casualties for coalition forces, Iraqi
security forces and Iraqi civilians have dropped significantly," Maj. Gen.
James Simmons, deputy commander for support at Multinational Corps Iraq,
said. "We have seized the initiative and placed the enemy on the defense."
In a briefing on Thursday, the military said 1,560 IEDs were discovered
in October, the lowest level since September 2005. Officials said 763 bombs
exploded and 767 were cleared.
In March 2007, 3,239 IED incidents were reported. The military said
1,641
IEDs exploded and 1,489 identified and cleared.
"Since June 2007, attacks and casualties have dropped to the lowest rate
in two years," Simmons said. "Although there remain tough pockets of enemy
resistance that must be defeated, reporting through the 14th of November
indicates a continuation of these positive trends."
Officials attributed the IED decline to the U.S. troop surge in the
provinces of Anbar, Baghdad and Diyala. They said the U.S. Army has trained
combat engineers to disable IEDs, until June 2007 the sole responsibility of
explosive ordnance disposal forces.
The new arrangement has enabled EOD and weapons intelligence teams to
focus on the most dangerous IEDs and caches. Over the last four months,
officials said, the IED apprehension rate has doubled.
On Thursday, the military reported the discovery of five car bombs this
week in Iraq. The attacks were foiled as dozens of Al Qaida insurgents were
said to have been captured in operations in central and northern Iraq.
"We found more caches by May of this year than in all of 2006," Simmons
said.
Simmons said Iran has reduced the flow of weapons and explosives into
Iraq. The general said Iran, in wake of long negotiations, has honored its
commitment to stop the smuggling of weapons to Iraqi Shiite groups.
Still, IEDs remain the greatest threat to U.S. ground troops, officials
said, and account for up to two-thirds of all casualties. They cited the use
of explosively-formed projectiles -- manufactured by Iran -- in the Baghdad
area.
"The IED has been and remains the enemy's primary weapon of choice
against coalition, Iraqi forces and Iraqi civilians," Simmons said.
"Multinational Corps Iraq views this threat as extremely serious."
