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WASHINGTON D.C. (May 27, 2008) - Al-Qaida terrorists in Iraq are
being systematically hunted down and given little or no time to
regroup as U.S. and Iraqi security forces tighten the noose, senior
U.S. and Iraqi military officials said May 25 in Baghdad.
Al-Qaida terrorists were ejected from Baghdad and its environs
more than a year ago by the surge of U.S. and Iraqi forces, Navy
Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll told reporters at a news conference.
Driscoll was accompanied by Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Maj.
Gen. Mohammed al Askari.
"Recent improvements by the government of Iraq and the growing
capability of the Iraqi security forces are improving security"
across Iraq, Driscoll said. "Iraqi security forces are in the lead
in Basra, Mosul and Sadr City."
Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, the home of Iraqi cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr, sprawls across Baghdad's eastern sector. A
continuing cease-fire agreement made between Sadr's militia and the
Iraqi government has helped dampen violence in the formerly
combustible area, where Iraqi security forces are now conducting
security patrols.
Overall, Iraq has seen a significant reduction in violence,
Driscoll told reporters. "In the past week, security incidents
decreased to levels not seen since March of 2004," he said. In
fact, insurgent attacks have declined by 70 percent since the surge
of forces began in June, the admiral added. Nonetheless, Driscoll
predicted "more hard fighting ahead" in Iraq as its citizens
increasingly cooperate with government forces in efforts to smoke
out terrorists and other criminals.
"As criminals and terrorists flee their hideouts, we continue to
uncover large quantities of weapons in residential neighborhoods
and public buildings," Driscoll said. Since the beginning of
operations in Basra, he noted, Iraqi security forces have collected
close to 270 caches of medium- and heavy-caliber ordnance.
Some of the most-lethal weaponry uncovered in Iraq in recent
weeks is of Iranian manufacture, Driscoll said.
"Local residents who are tired of the violence and criminal
activity are increasingly pointing out where these weapons are
hidden," Driscoll said.
Besides Basra, he added, other large weapons caches are being
discovered across Baghdad as well as in Mosul, to the north. Many
al-Qaida members fled northward to Mosul as the surge took
hold.
During a May 24 visit to observe reconstruction projects in the
southern-Iraqi city of Najaf, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C.
Crocker avoided saying al-Qaida in Iraq is finished. Crocker did
say, however, that al-Qaida in Iraq has "never been closer to
defeat than they are now."
"Ambassador Crocker was right in his statement," Askari told
reporters. "Al-Qaida in Iraq is being defeated." Citing recent
intelligence data, the Iraqi general said al-Qaida is frustrated at
its lack of operational success since the surge of forces took
hold.
"They say that they cannot carry out the operations and they
would like to find another place outside of Iraq," Askari said of
information about al-Qaida in Iraq's present state of mind. "And
this is due to the security gains and also the development of the
Iraqi security forces and the [Iraqi] intelligence."
The citizens of Iraq's Ninevah province have risen up to drive
al-Qaida out, Askari observed, which is "just like the people in
Anbar [province] did." Any residual al-Qaida safe havens in Ninevah
"will be eliminated" over time, he predicted.
Still, Driscoll said, al-Qaida in Iraq "remains a very lethal
threat" that is being pressured by U.S. and Iraqi security
forces.
"They've been put off-balance, and they're certainly on the
run," Driscoll said of al-Qaida's situation in Iraq. "They no
longer control large swaths of territory or they don't control
cities, but they're still out there."
Al-Qaida in Iraq still is capable of conducting high-profile
attacks as part of its desire to incite sectarian strife, Driscoll
cautioned.
Driscoll noted that he and Multinational Force Iraq commander
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus share the same opinion regarding the
current situation in Iraq. Petraeus, who carried out the successful
surge strategy, has been selected by President Bush to be the next
chief of U.S. Central Command.
"As General Petraeus has said, ... it's too early to pop the
champagne bottle and celebrate victory," Driscoll emphasized,
noting al-Qaida in Iraq still is active and looking for ways to
make an impact.
"If we let up on them, they will come back," Driscoll predicted.
"So, it's an ongoing effort."
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