Militants Increase US Attacks in Iraq

[Duke]

Militants Increase US Attacks in Iraq
Updated: Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 3:49 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 3:49 PM EDT

(Wall Street Journal) - US military bases and personnel in Iraq are coming under increasing attack from mortar fire and bombings as militants are suspected of attempting to influence a contentious decision by Iraqi officials on whether to request that American forces remain in the country beyond an end-of-2011 deadline, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

"Various extremist groups and illegal militias have said they will increase attacks against US forces and they are trying to do that to claim credit for driving out our forces," said US Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, a spokesman for US forces in Iraq.

There were at least 162 attacks against US forces in Iraq last month, up from 128 in March and 93 in February, according to a foreign security company that tracks the data.

The surge in attacks last month coincided with a rash of American military, political and diplomatic visits to the country, as the US presses Iraqi officials to decide whether to request an extended troop presence ahead of a looming deadline, and as opponents of the US presence in Iraq press for forces to leave. US troop casualties hit an 18-month high in April at 11.

It is not clear who is behind the attacks, though Iraq's restive northern provinces, typically the stomping grounds of insurgent groups alleged to be part of al Qaida in Iraq, continued to show the highest number of attacks.

Two US soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb targeted their convoy in western Baghdad on May 22. That same day, a dozen car, roadside and suicide-vest bombs -- mostly targeting Iraqi security forces -- killed more than 20 people around Baghdad.

At least 152 Iraqis, mostly civilians, were killed in April, slightly fewer than in March, according to the statistics website icasualties.org.

"They are actually hurting Iraqis and undermining Iraq's sovereignty. More than 90 percent of the casualties caused by these attacks are Iraqi citizens," said Buchanan.

Officials have said the US military is around four months away from a logistical point of no return, when -- in the absence of a decision whether to request that US forces remain -- it will begin the final dismantling of remaining military installations and sending equipment out of the country.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpps/new...24-ch_13356153