Diminished Violence in Baghdad Holding

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – The five-day trend toward diminished violence in the Iraqi capital was holding Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, as a curfew kept vehicles off the streets through the middle of the day.

The quiet in Baghdad followed a day of bloody house-to-house fighting outside a chaotic city to the north in which 43 people were killed.

The American military said Friday that the fighting between Sunni insurgents and Iraqi police near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killed one civilian and 24 police. American troops later joined the fight, aiding in a counterattack in which 18 insurgents died, the military said.

“Anti-Iraqi forces” ambushed a police unit based in Baqouba at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday, the military said, using its standard term for Sunni insurgents.

Police fought back and American troops nearby were diverted from another mission, assisted by air cover. Eight insurgents also were wounded and 27 others captured, the military said.

No shootings or bomb attacks were reported Friday in Baghdad, which saw violence, especially sectarian attacks, spike over Ramadan. The holy month, during which Muslims abstain from food, liquids, cigarettes and sex from dawn to dusk, ended on Sunday for Sunnis and Monday for Shiites.

Attacks typically rise during Ramadan, in part because some Muslims believe dying during the holiday bestows additional blessings in the afterlife. The end of the month is followed by Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday of feasting and visiting among relatives and friends.

Since Ramadan’s end, killings in parts of Baghdad where security forces have established a firm presence have fallen by 10 percent to 20 percent, American military spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said Thursday.

He speculated that was due to the holiday festivities, as well as massive deployment of American troops in the capital to search for a missing Army linguist of Iraqi descent who was abducted while visiting relatives on Monday.

“We did in fact see a tremendous downturn in the number within our clear areas which we are trying to watch very closely,” Caldwell said.

It wasn’t clear whether the lull would add momentum to a 2-month-old security drive in Baghdad that has yet to show obvious results. Elsewhere in the country, fighting has continued in recent days between security forces and insurgents, as well as between rival Shiite militias.

The fighting outside Baqouba was some of the heaviest in recent days involving insurgents and Iraqi security forces, who American commanders have been pressing to take over more responsibility for security in the country, thereby allowing the contemplation of American troop withdrawals.

With rising American casualties adding to growing anti-war sentiment in America, American leaders are eager to show that the Iraqi forces are rising to the challenge by controlling territory and inflicting casualties on their enemies.

American troop deaths hit their highest monthly total in a year on Thursday – at 96 – with the announcement of the deaths of a Navy sailor and four Marines the day before. At least 2,809 members of the American military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry, which commands the police, gave a slightly different version of the clash and said those killed included Khan Bani Saad’s police chief, Brig. Abbas al-Ameri, and his brother.

A ministry spokesman, Brig. Abdel-Karim Khalaf, said Iraqi forces moved into the area after learning of the presence of insurgents who were behind the ambush on Monday of a convoy of buses carrying police recruits. At least 15 recruits were killed and 25 were wounded in that attack.

“After we received information that these criminals had a presence … we mobilized our forces and attacked the area,” Khalf said. “We cannot tolerate this and that is the reason why we took action yesterday.”

Khalf denied police had been surprised and put the death toll among officers at 12, with 19 insurgents killed and 28 captured. He described the enemy fighters as hardcore remnants of Saddam Hussein’s former Baathist regime, allied with “Takfiri elements,” a term for Islamic radicals that includes groups like al-Qaida in Iraq.

The area around Baqouba also has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks between armed Shiite and Sunni groups carrying out revenge killings. A Shiite militia went on a rampage in the nearby city of Balad last week, killing scores of Sunnis and forcing others from their homes.

In another apparent sectarian attack, four people were killed and five wounded near Baqouba when gunmen fired on a van carrying Shiites returning from the funeral of a relative in the holy city of Najaf, police said.

Fearing similar bloodshed, authorities extended a vehicle ban in the northern city of Mosul through Friday afternoon, following threats from Sunni gunmen. Fears were sparked after the men distributed leaflets at mosques on Thursday proclaiming the mixed Sunni-Kurdish city a part of an Islamic state declared earlier this month by an insurgent umbrella group, the Mujahedeen Shura Council.

While the insurgents’ declaration has been viewed primarily as a propaganda move, fighters aligned with the Shura Council, which includes Al Qaeda in Iraq, are suspected of involvement in recent deadly attacks in Mosul.

The city, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, is a battleground between Sunni Arabs who were moved there by the former regime and members of the Kurdish minority native to the region.


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