LOC22:12
19:12 GMT
BAGHDAD, Nov 18 (KUNA) -- A US ranking officer warned Sunday that Al-Qaeda
might be planning attacks in Baghdad, accusing Iran anew of funding militants
in Iraq.
Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, Multi-National Force's chief of Communication
Division, told a news conference that coalition forces were pursuing Al-Qaeda
militants in northern Baghdad within operation "Iron Hammer."
Smit said coalition forces discovered 51 hideouts of weapons and rockets,
as well as arresting hundreds of Al-Qaeda terrorists.
He said terrorist operations were at their lowest since January 2006, and
have declined by 55 percent since reinforcements arrived in Iraq last June.
US President George Bush's decision to send another 28,500 soldiers to Iraq
made the difference.
Smith said casualties among civilians dropped by 60 percent nationwide.
But he warned that explosives and booby-trapped vehicles were the most
dangerous tools of attacks against civilians, coalition and Iraqi forces.
Smit meanwhile accused Iran of funding terrorist operations in Iraq through
al-Quds brigades. He said Iran was still posing a serious threat.
Iran remains the prime supplier of weapons, training and funding of
militias, he said.
Phil Reeker, Counselor for Public Affairs in the US embassy in Baghdad,
said emphasized the decline in in violence.
He said the Americans sought to push economic development in Iraq. (end)
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