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Sharp drop in Baghdad deaths from violence

BAGHDAD: The number of bullet-riddled bodies found each day in Baghdad has dropped from at least 43 to about four under a year-old U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown in the capital, an Iraqi military commander said on Saturday.

Lt. Gen. Abboud Qanbar, the top commander for Baghdad, said investigations were under way as well into claims that civilians had been killed during American and Iraqi operations.

“Baghdad’s operational command has started to follow up on the cases of victims of mistakes made during military operations conducted by Iraqi or multinational forces in order provide compensation for them,” he said.

He didn’t elaborate, but there have been numerous allegations by Iraqis that civilians have been caught up in raids against Shia and Sunni targets during the crackdown in Baghdad and surrounding areas that began on Feb. 14, 2007.

Lt. Gen. Qanbar’s comments came amid a flurry of appearances by Iraqi officials touting the security gains in the year since the crackdown began. But the optimism was tempered by warnings that the battle was not over.

“An end date cannot be set for this security plan because of the kind of battle we are fighting against an enemy represented by insurgency and terrorism,” the Baghdad commander said.

Iraqi Defence Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi said separately that the so-called surge of U.S. troops has helped secure 90 per cent of Baghdad, but security challenges remain from the Al-Qaeda in the north and what he called “criminals, gangs and smugglers” in the south.

He said U.S. troops would remain in Iraq until domestic security forces were able to take their place, and the long-term need for U.S. troops was mostly related to border protection.

“There is 90 per cent security in the capital,” Mr. Al-Obeidi said on the sidelines of a meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

He singled out the area around Mosul as a source of particular concern as U.S. and Iraqi officials have said they believe the northwestern city is the last major urban stronghold of the Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Former soldiers from the Saddam Hussein’s disbanded army have been pouring into Iraqi military bases to join the Iraqi army, a spokesman said, as security forces gear up for what Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised will be a “decisive battle” in Mosul. The U.S. military has said the fighting in Iraq’s third-largest will be more protracted.

Brig. Gen. Khalid Abdul-Sattar, a spokesman for military operations in the area, said the recruiting effort would continue in Mosul through Tuesday, then would shift to regions west of the city.

In remarks aired on state television late Friday, Mr. Maliki thanked U.S.-led forces for what he called a “victory in Baghdad” and promised to pursue the insurgents who have fled northward.

“Today our forces are locked in battle against outlaws in Nineveh and we are chasing them,” said as he hailed what he called a “victory in Baghdad” in remarks aired late Friday on Iraqi state television.

The military operation, which saw an influx of some 30,000 extra U.S. troops, was seen as a last ditch effort to salvage the American mission in Iraq and, in the words of U.S. President George W. Bush, give Mr. Maliki “breathing space.”

After a sharp initial spike in military and civilian casualties, the level of violence has dropped sharply as Sunnis joined forces with the Americans against the Al-Qaeda in Iraq and radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his militia fighters to stand down in a six-month cease-fire that ends later this month.

Al-Sadr’s cease-fire has led to a dramatic drop in the number of people killed execution-style at the hands of so-called sectarian death squads usually led by militia leaders.

“There were at least 43 unidentified dead bodies everyday in the period between Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 in 2006 while there were about four dead bodies everyday in the period from August to Feb. 12,” Lt. Gen. Qanbar said.

He also welcomed a sense of normality that has returned to many parts of Baghdad, with concrete barriers protecting markets and neighbourhoods from car bombs and checkpoints erected throughout the city.

“The most important thing that Operation Imposing Law has achieved is to bring life back to Baghdad: the teacher can go to his school, the doctor can go to his clinic and the merchant and the worker,” he said. “The next phase is an important one and needs huge efforts from politicians, security officials and citizens.”

He added the fight would continue, along with efforts to build up the Iraqi security forces with an eye toward the eventual withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. “The Baghdad operation room is fully aware of plans for the eventual reduction of the multinational forces and it already started planning to gradually take over security control of Baghdad’s sectors and its outskirts,” he said.

Separately, the Iraqi Interior Ministry announced it will set up three courts to investigate crimes or violations committed by its staff, in accordance with a new law.

“Excessive use of power, negligence in performing their duty, helping armed groups or leaking secret information about plans or operations will bring Interior Ministry employees in front of justice,” ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said. — AP

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