'All-time high' in Baghdad violence
2006-10-12
Source: USA Today
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rss feedThe number of sectarian killings each month in Baghdad has more than tripled since February, and the violence has not slowed despite a major offensive in the capital.
Death squads killed 1,450 people in September, up from 450 in February, according to U.S. military statistics. In the first 10 days of October, death squads have killed about 770 Iraqis.
The increase in death squad killings reflects the level of religious warfare that is now the largest threat to security in Iraq.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesman, acknowledged violence in Baghdad is at an "all-time high" and said U.S. commanders, in coordination with their Iraqi counterparts, are continuing to adjust the security plan to try to reduce the violence. "We've been working to keep it peaceful, and we've been frustrated that the extremists keep perpetuating the number of attacks," Garver said.
U.S. forces are also caught in the violence. At least 37 American troops have been killed in combat this month, about half of them in or around Baghdad, where Iraqi and U.S. forces are attempting to loosen the grip of armed militias. The weekly average of U.S. deaths since President Bush declared the end of major combat operations in May 2003 has been about 14.
Sectarian violence grew after the February bombing of a sacred Shiite mosque in Samarra. Gen. George Casey, the top-ranking U.S. officer in Iraq, said the conflict was changing from an insurgency against U.S. forces to a struggle among Iraqis.
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