Roadside bombs spike in first 2 weeks of year

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Soldiers from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment rest after searching Arab Jabour during Operation Coliseum south of Baghdad on Jan. 20.


Roadside bombs spike in first 2 weeks of year
By Tom Vanden Brook - USA Today
Posted : Monday Jan 21, 2008 9:43:25 EST

The number of roadside bombs deployed by Iraqi militants spiked during the first two weeks of January, reaching their highest level since fall, according to the U.S. military.

More than 300 IEDs per week exploded or were discovered by U.S. troops in early January. That was less than half the level seen when attacks against U.S. troops peaked in late June, but highlighted the risks they still face even as security in Iraq improves overall, Maj. Winfield Danielson said.

“There will be more tough fighting ahead and there will occasionally be tough periods when bombs and other attacks increase,” Danielson, a military spokesman, said in an e-mail Sunday.

Late last year, the military said the flow of explosively formed penetrators into Iraq had slowed, but Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander, said last week that attacks with the weapons had risen by a factor of two or three in the first half of this month.

Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, another military spokesman, said the increase fell off again last week to more “normal” levels.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_efp_080120/