Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
January 30, 2008
Pg. 9
By Charles Levinson, USA Today
BAGHDAD -- Al-Qaeda in Iraq has largely abandoned its signature tactic, the car bomb, and relies more on individuals in suicide vests to stage attacks, the U.S. military says. It calls the trend a sign that Islamic extremists are on the run.
A suicide car bomb killed one Iraqi on Tuesday in the northern insurgent stronghold of Mosul, but it was only the third car attack this month, the U.S. military said. That marked a sharp decline over the 12 car bombs in December and the 80-plus attacks in January 2007.
This month, there has been a spike in smaller-scale attacks by bombers using suicide vests. There have been 16 such attacks compared with 10 last month. January has seen the most attacks involving suicide vest bombs since March 2007, which was one of the deadliest periods of the Iraq war.
January is the first month in the war in which al-Qaeda in Iraq has used more suicide vest bombers than car bombs, said Adm. Greg Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq. "We think that because of our operations, al-Qaeda has moved into a much more defensive position, and they're clearly having to physically move," Smith said. "That's making their ability to conduct more lethal larger-scale bombings more difficult."
The U.S. military launched a broad initiative last month to push al-Qaeda out of its strongholds outside Baghdad, and Smith said the terrorist organization has been driven out of every major city in Iraq except Mosul.
As a result, Smith said, al-Qaeda is no longer able to assemble larger and more intricate car bombs. Suicide vests use smaller quantities of explosives, are easier to travel with and easier to assemble than car bombs, he said.
The most recent suicide vest attack occurred Tuesday at a checkpoint in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Amariyah in southwest Baghdad. A female bomber detonated her vest shortly after noon, wounding five U.S. soldiers, and killing two Iraqis.
Robert Pape, a political science professor at the University of Chicago and author of the book Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, isn't so optimistic about the tactical shift.
"What the vest surrenders in terms of volume of explosives it gains in terms of being able to get proximity to the target," Pape said. "I don't think we can say this tactical shift suggests al-Qaeda is on the verge of defeat."
January 30, 2008
Pg. 9
By Charles Levinson, USA Today
BAGHDAD -- Al-Qaeda in Iraq has largely abandoned its signature tactic, the car bomb, and relies more on individuals in suicide vests to stage attacks, the U.S. military says. It calls the trend a sign that Islamic extremists are on the run.
A suicide car bomb killed one Iraqi on Tuesday in the northern insurgent stronghold of Mosul, but it was only the third car attack this month, the U.S. military said. That marked a sharp decline over the 12 car bombs in December and the 80-plus attacks in January 2007.
This month, there has been a spike in smaller-scale attacks by bombers using suicide vests. There have been 16 such attacks compared with 10 last month. January has seen the most attacks involving suicide vest bombs since March 2007, which was one of the deadliest periods of the Iraq war.
January is the first month in the war in which al-Qaeda in Iraq has used more suicide vest bombers than car bombs, said Adm. Greg Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq. "We think that because of our operations, al-Qaeda has moved into a much more defensive position, and they're clearly having to physically move," Smith said. "That's making their ability to conduct more lethal larger-scale bombings more difficult."
The U.S. military launched a broad initiative last month to push al-Qaeda out of its strongholds outside Baghdad, and Smith said the terrorist organization has been driven out of every major city in Iraq except Mosul.
As a result, Smith said, al-Qaeda is no longer able to assemble larger and more intricate car bombs. Suicide vests use smaller quantities of explosives, are easier to travel with and easier to assemble than car bombs, he said.
The most recent suicide vest attack occurred Tuesday at a checkpoint in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Amariyah in southwest Baghdad. A female bomber detonated her vest shortly after noon, wounding five U.S. soldiers, and killing two Iraqis.
Robert Pape, a political science professor at the University of Chicago and author of the book Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, isn't so optimistic about the tactical shift.
"What the vest surrenders in terms of volume of explosives it gains in terms of being able to get proximity to the target," Pape said. "I don't think we can say this tactical shift suggests al-Qaeda is on the verge of defeat."