Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Times
December 30, 2007
Pg. 1
By Bradley Brooks, Associated Press
BAGHDAD--Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesman said yesterday that 75 percent of al Qaeda in Iraq's terrorist network were destroyed this year, but the top American commander in the country said the terror group remained his chief concern.
Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf said the disruption of the terrorist network was a result of improvements in the Iraqi security forces, which he said had made strides in weeding out commanders and officers with ties to militias or who were involved in criminal activities.
He also credited the rise of anti-al Qaeda in Iraq groups, mostly made up of Sunni fighters the Shi'ite-dominated government has cautiously begun to embrace. Additionally, an increase in American troops since June has been credited with pushing many militants out of Baghdad.
Gen. Khalaf's assertion that three-fourths of al Qaeda in Iraq had been destroyed could not be independently verified, and he did not elaborate on how the percentage was determined.
But violence in Iraq has dropped significantly since June — the U.S. military says it is down 60 percent nationwide — demonstrating success in fighting the terrorist network.
Separately, Iraq's chief military spokesman Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said yesterday that two senior insurgents linked to al Qaeda were arrested the day before near Baghdad.
Ahmed Turky Abbas, the "defense minister" of the Islamic State of Iraq — an al Qaeda front group — was arrested in a village near Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, Gen. al-Moussawi said. Not far from Mahmoudiya in Latifiyah, the Iraqi army also arrested Hussein Ali Turky, considered a local religious leader for al Qaeda in Iraq.
Gen. Khalaf, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said such pressure on extremists has helped contain their activities.
"Their activity is now limited to certain places north of Baghdad," he told reporters. "We're working on pursuing those groups, that is the coming fight."
Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, told a small group of Western reporters yesterday that despite the success against al Qaeda in Iraq, destroying the group is still a top concern for the U.S. military.
"We still regard al Qaeda as the biggest threat," Gen. Petraeus said. "We regard them as the most significant challenge facing Iraq."
After nearly five years of war, American military commanders have learned to couch even optimistic reports in cautious terms. They have repeatedly said that the fight against extremists in Iraq is far from over, noting that they still have the capacity to carry out large attacks.
But the effect of U.S. and Iraqi military success against the group has been reflected in decreased civilian deaths.
According to an Associated Press count, civilian deaths in Iraq have steadily dropped in the second half of 2007 after seeing a high of 2,155 killed in May. Through Friday, deaths in December stood at 691, the lowest for the year and much lower than the 2,309 killed in December 2006.
Meanwhile, the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr yesterday called for reconciliation between his followers and Iraqi security forces in Karbala, according to al-Sadr aide Sheik Mohannad al-Gharrawi.
In August, followers of Sheik al-Sadr and fighters loyal to the powerful Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council led by cleric Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim clashed in Karbala during a religious festival, killing 52 persons. Since then, al-Sadr loyalists have been targeted in a crackdown by Iraqi security forces.
"This initiative comes as a response to the events that took place in Karbala, when more than 50 pilgrims died," Sheik al-Gharrawi said.
After that fighting, Sheik al-Sadr announced he was freezing the activities of his Mahdi Army militia for six months — a move that both Iraqi and American officials have said has had a big effect on the reduction in violence.
December 30, 2007
Pg. 1
By Bradley Brooks, Associated Press
BAGHDAD--Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesman said yesterday that 75 percent of al Qaeda in Iraq's terrorist network were destroyed this year, but the top American commander in the country said the terror group remained his chief concern.
Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf said the disruption of the terrorist network was a result of improvements in the Iraqi security forces, which he said had made strides in weeding out commanders and officers with ties to militias or who were involved in criminal activities.
He also credited the rise of anti-al Qaeda in Iraq groups, mostly made up of Sunni fighters the Shi'ite-dominated government has cautiously begun to embrace. Additionally, an increase in American troops since June has been credited with pushing many militants out of Baghdad.
Gen. Khalaf's assertion that three-fourths of al Qaeda in Iraq had been destroyed could not be independently verified, and he did not elaborate on how the percentage was determined.
But violence in Iraq has dropped significantly since June — the U.S. military says it is down 60 percent nationwide — demonstrating success in fighting the terrorist network.
Separately, Iraq's chief military spokesman Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said yesterday that two senior insurgents linked to al Qaeda were arrested the day before near Baghdad.
Ahmed Turky Abbas, the "defense minister" of the Islamic State of Iraq — an al Qaeda front group — was arrested in a village near Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, Gen. al-Moussawi said. Not far from Mahmoudiya in Latifiyah, the Iraqi army also arrested Hussein Ali Turky, considered a local religious leader for al Qaeda in Iraq.
Gen. Khalaf, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said such pressure on extremists has helped contain their activities.
"Their activity is now limited to certain places north of Baghdad," he told reporters. "We're working on pursuing those groups, that is the coming fight."
Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, told a small group of Western reporters yesterday that despite the success against al Qaeda in Iraq, destroying the group is still a top concern for the U.S. military.
"We still regard al Qaeda as the biggest threat," Gen. Petraeus said. "We regard them as the most significant challenge facing Iraq."
After nearly five years of war, American military commanders have learned to couch even optimistic reports in cautious terms. They have repeatedly said that the fight against extremists in Iraq is far from over, noting that they still have the capacity to carry out large attacks.
But the effect of U.S. and Iraqi military success against the group has been reflected in decreased civilian deaths.
According to an Associated Press count, civilian deaths in Iraq have steadily dropped in the second half of 2007 after seeing a high of 2,155 killed in May. Through Friday, deaths in December stood at 691, the lowest for the year and much lower than the 2,309 killed in December 2006.
Meanwhile, the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr yesterday called for reconciliation between his followers and Iraqi security forces in Karbala, according to al-Sadr aide Sheik Mohannad al-Gharrawi.
In August, followers of Sheik al-Sadr and fighters loyal to the powerful Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council led by cleric Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim clashed in Karbala during a religious festival, killing 52 persons. Since then, al-Sadr loyalists have been targeted in a crackdown by Iraqi security forces.
"This initiative comes as a response to the events that took place in Karbala, when more than 50 pilgrims died," Sheik al-Gharrawi said.
After that fighting, Sheik al-Sadr announced he was freezing the activities of his Mahdi Army militia for six months — a move that both Iraqi and American officials have said has had a big effect on the reduction in violence.