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The number of planted bombs is "at an all-time high," said Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, a military spokesman, defying American efforts to staunch the vicious sectarian bloodshed in Baghdad that threatens to plunge the country into civil war.
"This has been a hard week for U.S. forces," Caldwell said at a news conference here, later adding: "This is not going to affect ongoing operations. Those will continue."
Caldwell said the number of car and roadside bombs found in Iraq last week was the highest so far this year. The improvised explosive devices mostly have targeted Iraqi civilians, he said.
Caldwell declined to say how many of these devices have been found, citing security reasons. "Vehicle IEDs . . . have our attention, is something we're very concerned about, because it is such a sensational thing, and it's done against mostly innocent Iraqi civilians," he said.
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Several hours after Caldwell spoke, a suicide bomber exploded a car at a joint American-Iraqi base in Ramadi, killing and wounding at least 19 people, authorities said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR2006100300398.html