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| Iraq |
| Iraqi security forces are al-Qaeda's 'enemy No. 1' |
| 2008-02-21 |
| Al-Qaeda and other militants in Iraq have shifted their sights to the growing number of U.S.-backed neighborhood security groups, quadrupling the number of attacks on the lightly armed volunteers over recent months. Al-Qaeda calls the local security forces "the most dangerous enemy" it faces and ordered more attacks against the groups, according to a document captured last month. The letter from an al-Qaeda regional commander to a subordinate was dated Jan. 3, 2008. The letter was among a series of documents found last month by U.S. soldiers in a network of tunnels in Samarra, a city north of Baghdad, according to Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a U.S. military spokesman. The letter detailed recent al-Qaeda attacks and urged more assaults on the volunteer groups. "They're going after them as enemy No. 1," Smith said. The number of attacks against the local security groups increased to 100 last month from about 25 in November and about 50 in December, according to Multi-National Force-Iraq. The statistics indicate the effectiveness of the attacks is declining. In December, more than half the attacks resulted in death or injury. Last month, 35% of the attacks resulted in casualties. Tribal leaders have been the targets of assassination attempts in the past, but al-Qaeda is shifting to broader attacks on rank-and-file members of the groups. Shiite extremists also target the groups. The volunteers, whose ranks have grown to more than 91,000, helped reduce violence in Iraq by establishing security and separating al-Qaeda from Sunni support. About 80% of the volunteers are Sunnis. They have also improved intelligence information, since many volunteers are former insurgents. Smith said the number of volunteers continues to grow and recruitment has not been hurt by the attacks, most of which have been in Baghdad and Diyala province, north of the capital. In the Baghdad area, the number of volunteers increased to 26,634 from 19,748 over the past two months, according to the U.S. division based there. Col. Raad Ali Hassan, commander of a volunteer group in Baghdad's Ghazaliyah neighborhood, said the volunteers are a threat to militants because they know the neighborhoods and can point out al-Qaeda and other extremists. In the past week, there were two roadside bomb attacks on members of the Ghazaliyah security group, said Army Capt. Rob Gillespie, a company commander based in the neighborhood. One of the attacks killed a volunteer. Hassan said the attacks have not hurt recruitment or intimidated members of the group. "Every day the number of volunteers is increasing," he said. The local security movement started more than a year ago among tribal leaders in Anbar, a mostly Sunni province in western Iraq. Tribal leaders turned against al-Qaeda and teamed up with U.S. and Iraqi forces. The movement, initially called the Awakening, spread to other parts of Iraq, with the support and encouragement of the U.S. military. The U.S. military formalized the movement and pays the volunteers about $350 a month. The U.S. military has spent $148 million on the program since its inception. "They are the first line of defense," Smith said. "If you're trying to attack (local security groups), it is not that hard to do." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Saddam was working within the structure of tribal obligation and revenge. AQI are operating outside that structure. And this time the tribes are backed by US air power and the US Marine Corps. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2008-02-21 11:29 |
| #1 This tactic of killing ordinary Iraqis has been working so well for AQI that they've decided to expand it? They're betting intimidation will trump revenge, but for that to happen they'll have to prove they are capable of killing anybody, whenever they want (Hussein was able to, but I think the people are getting over transferring the effect to just any thug wannabee.) |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-02-21 07:26 |