The threat from Al Qaeda in several former strongholds in Baghdad has been significantly reduced, but criminals who have established an "almost mafia-like presence" in some areas pose a new threat, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said Sunday.The commander, General David Petraeus, stressed, however, that the terror organization remained "a very dangerous and very lethal enemy" - a comment underscored by the abduction Sunday in Baghdad of 10 Sunni and Shiite tribal leaders who had joined forces against Al Qaeda. "Its presence has been significantly reduced, and its activity and freedom of action have been degraded," Petraeus said at a U.S. base near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, 130 kilometers, or 80 miles, north of Baghdad.
He singled out success in what had been some of the most volatile Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad, including Ghazaliya, Amariya, Azamiya and Doura. But, he said, "Al Qaeda remains a very dangerous and very lethal enemy of Iraq. We must maintain contact with them and not allow them to establish sanctuaries or re-establish sanctuaries in places where they were before."