Sectarian executions drop in Baghdad

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Execution-style killings have fallen sharply in Baghdad since the security crackdown began this month, the No. 2 U.S. commander said Tuesday. Figures compiled by The Associated Press from police reports show that the number of bullet-ridden bodies found in the streets of Baghdad this month total 494 as of Monday night. That was down from the 954 in January and 1,222 in December. Such killings have generally been attributed to sectarian death squads — including Shiite militiamen, Sunni insurgents or rogue elements within the mostly Shiite army and police.

The security crackdown officially began Feb. 14, although some U.S. and Iraqi units had been stepping up patrols and searches since earlier in the month.

"We have seen a decrease in the past three weeks — a pretty radical decrease," Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters. "I'm not willing to draw any conclusions yet though because it's only (been) three weeks."

Odierno, the operational commander for U.S. forces in Iraq, suggested the drop could be due to more security forces on the streets but added it may be only temporary.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070227/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_sectarian_deaths


Perhaps this may be true, but violence is just moving outside of Baghdad

RAMADI - Iraqi police and a community leader said a bomb blast near a soccer field in Ramadi killed 18 people, mostly children, but the U.S. military said it was unaware of such an attack. The U.S. military said its soldiers had carried out a controlled explosion in Ramadi, also near a soccer field, that slightly wounded 30 people, including nine children.

Two Iraqi police sources said 18 people had been killed in the bomb attack. Tribal leader Hamid Farhan al-Hays from Ramadi told Iraqiya state television that 12 children and six women were killed in a bomb he blamed on al Qaeda.

* BAGHDAD - Four bodies were found shot dead around Baghdad, a police source said.

* BAGHDAD - Mortars killed three people and wounded six in Wehde, south of Baghdad, a police source said.

* DIWANIYA - The U.S. military announced the death of another U.S. soldier, killed on Monday by a roadside bomb near Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad. Two more soldiers were wounded by the bomb.

BAGHDAD - Three U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Baghdad and one more was wounded, the U.S. military said.

link: http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR731341.htm

[Cooley Hurd]

1. WE'RE WINNING!

Can we bring the troops home now?:shrug:

[saigon68]

4. FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH

[wellst0nev0ter]

2. Uh, Yeah

Nearly two weeks into the newest Baghdad security plan, the daily count of murder victims dumped on the city's streets has declined significantly, a likely sign that Shiite Muslim militia groups aligned with the Iraqi government have reined in their members or sent them out of the capital.

But deaths from bombings and mortar attacks, after an initial decline, have returned to the levels of the previous two months, suggesting that the plan's initial measures have had little impact on the Sunni insurgent groups believed to be responsible for most of that violence.

<snip>

From Dec. 1, 2006, through Feb. 14, the number of people killed in public places from violent attacks averaged 14.8 a day. From Feb. 15 through Monday, the number declined, but just barely, to 13.8. Car bombs were up slightly, from an average of 1.2 a day to 1.6, while roadside bombs were identical at 1 per day.

Injuries, on average, rose from 40.4 a day to 52.8 since the start of the plan, while bodies dumped by death squads declined from 22.8 a day to 14.6.

The increase in car bombs is particularly troubling. Members of Shiite militias often have cited Sunni car bombings as the driving force for their activities, which include targeting Sunnis for kidnapping and execution. On Sunday, the government announced new measures to stop car bombs, including prohibitions against parking or standing along major streets.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/world/16789110.htm?source=rss&channel=krwashington_world

[xultar]

3. They don't include the chlorine truck bombs in that do they?

[Eugene]

5. Today's five dead bodies is only a brief lull.

The "surge" in Baghdad has cut the typical daily toll to 15-25 instead of 40-50.
Shortly after a military or political leader claims progress in Baghdad, things
tend to go BOOM!

It has only been two days of relative quiet. Meanwhile, the fighting and killings
are raging outside Baghdad.

From the Feb. 25 Reuters Factbox:

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Feb 25
25 Feb 2007 19:35:39 GMT
Source: Reuters

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 1930 GMT
on Sunday:

* denotes a new or updated item.

* MOSUL - Police in the northern city of Mosul said 24 bodies were found in different parts
of the city over the past day.

* BAGHDAD - Police found the bodies of 17 people shot dead in different parts of Baghdad
over the past day, a police source said.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KAM539768.htm