ShotOver
01-14-2004, 12:29 AM
AP - Guerrilla attacks on the 150,000 US-led coalition soldiers in Iraq have dropped sharply since the December 13 capture of Saddam Hussein.
The number of troops killed and wounded has also plummeted.
The figures appear to show the capture of Saddam has taken some of the sting out of the Iraqi insurgency. But one top US military official said guerrilla attacks were already on the decline before Saddam was found hiding in a small bunker near his home town of Tikrit.
"We were starting to see the decrease in the attacks prior to the capture of Saddam," said Brigadier-General Mark Hertling, a deputy commander of the US Army's 1st armoured Division. He also said casualties have not declined in the capital, Baghdad.
Fifty-two coalition troops were killed and 159 wounded in the four weeks before Saddam's capture - November 13 to December 12.
In the following four weeks, to January 13, casualties dropped to 37 soldiers killed and 128 wounded, US military officials in Baghdad said.
That amounted to 29 per cent fewer deaths and 20 per cent fewer combat injuries.
The figures do not include accidental deaths and injuries.
The slump in combat casualties came alongside a 22 per cent drop in attacks on American-led forces in those four weeks. The attacks include any type of hostile action including small-arms fire, roadside bombs, mines, rocket-propelled grenades and car bombs.
According to US military figures, insurgent attacks against coalition forces declined to an average of 18 a day in the past four weeks, compared to 23 a day in the four weeks before Saddam's capture. Most of the attacks were believed to have been made by supporters of the ousted regime.
At the Pentagon, Marine General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it was too early to tell whether the drop in attacks and casualties was "something that is going to remain or not".
While opinions differ on Saddam's role in the insurgency and whether his capture caused any rebels to give up, most US officials who have spoken publicly agree on one benefit: More Iraqis were willing to provide intelligence on the insurgency.
Military officials have said many Iraqis were no longer worried about the possibility of Saddam returning.
"The information we're receiving from those who are no longer fearful is helping us in our raids," said Lieutenant- Colonel Dan Williams, a US military spokesman in Baghdad.
"The information is leading us right to them."
Of the 495 American troops killed since the war began in March, most have died since President George W Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1.
The decline is not universal, most notably in Baghdad.
Hertling said the 1st armoured Division has seen a steady number of attacks there even since Saddam's capture.
"From the Baghdad perspective, we've been staying about the same in casualties," he said.
Also bucking a national trend, guerrillas in Baghdad were using larger makeshift bombs that combined bigger artillery shells and plastic explosive, Hertling said.
Elsewhere, US military officials have said bombs hidden along Iraq's roadways had become smaller, simpler and less effective.
"We're trying to figure out exactly why there has been a preponderance of larger shells and (plastic explosive)," Hertling said.
But 1st Armoured has seen some benefits from Saddam's arrest. Names on documents captured with the deposed dictator led coalition troops to arrest a swag of suspects.
Information gleaned in their interrogations led to even more arrests.
Since mid-November, 1st Armoured has arrested almost 600 members of Baghdad's estimated 14 guerrilla cells, including senior leaders and financiers.
"We were able to disrupt several cells in Baghdad," Hertling said.
We've got a few of them disrupted at the senior level and others we've affected at the lower level, by capturing or killing some of the lower level guys."
As for Saddam, the CIA is interrogating him. Hertling declined to specify whether 1st Armoured had found any of his recent statements useful.
"They're still exploiting him, interrogating him and getting more intelligence," Hertling said.
İAAP 2004
The number of troops killed and wounded has also plummeted.
The figures appear to show the capture of Saddam has taken some of the sting out of the Iraqi insurgency. But one top US military official said guerrilla attacks were already on the decline before Saddam was found hiding in a small bunker near his home town of Tikrit.
"We were starting to see the decrease in the attacks prior to the capture of Saddam," said Brigadier-General Mark Hertling, a deputy commander of the US Army's 1st armoured Division. He also said casualties have not declined in the capital, Baghdad.
Fifty-two coalition troops were killed and 159 wounded in the four weeks before Saddam's capture - November 13 to December 12.
In the following four weeks, to January 13, casualties dropped to 37 soldiers killed and 128 wounded, US military officials in Baghdad said.
That amounted to 29 per cent fewer deaths and 20 per cent fewer combat injuries.
The figures do not include accidental deaths and injuries.
The slump in combat casualties came alongside a 22 per cent drop in attacks on American-led forces in those four weeks. The attacks include any type of hostile action including small-arms fire, roadside bombs, mines, rocket-propelled grenades and car bombs.
According to US military figures, insurgent attacks against coalition forces declined to an average of 18 a day in the past four weeks, compared to 23 a day in the four weeks before Saddam's capture. Most of the attacks were believed to have been made by supporters of the ousted regime.
At the Pentagon, Marine General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it was too early to tell whether the drop in attacks and casualties was "something that is going to remain or not".
While opinions differ on Saddam's role in the insurgency and whether his capture caused any rebels to give up, most US officials who have spoken publicly agree on one benefit: More Iraqis were willing to provide intelligence on the insurgency.
Military officials have said many Iraqis were no longer worried about the possibility of Saddam returning.
"The information we're receiving from those who are no longer fearful is helping us in our raids," said Lieutenant- Colonel Dan Williams, a US military spokesman in Baghdad.
"The information is leading us right to them."
Of the 495 American troops killed since the war began in March, most have died since President George W Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1.
The decline is not universal, most notably in Baghdad.
Hertling said the 1st armoured Division has seen a steady number of attacks there even since Saddam's capture.
"From the Baghdad perspective, we've been staying about the same in casualties," he said.
Also bucking a national trend, guerrillas in Baghdad were using larger makeshift bombs that combined bigger artillery shells and plastic explosive, Hertling said.
Elsewhere, US military officials have said bombs hidden along Iraq's roadways had become smaller, simpler and less effective.
"We're trying to figure out exactly why there has been a preponderance of larger shells and (plastic explosive)," Hertling said.
But 1st Armoured has seen some benefits from Saddam's arrest. Names on documents captured with the deposed dictator led coalition troops to arrest a swag of suspects.
Information gleaned in their interrogations led to even more arrests.
Since mid-November, 1st Armoured has arrested almost 600 members of Baghdad's estimated 14 guerrilla cells, including senior leaders and financiers.
"We were able to disrupt several cells in Baghdad," Hertling said.
We've got a few of them disrupted at the senior level and others we've affected at the lower level, by capturing or killing some of the lower level guys."
As for Saddam, the CIA is interrogating him. Hertling declined to specify whether 1st Armoured had found any of his recent statements useful.
"They're still exploiting him, interrogating him and getting more intelligence," Hertling said.
İAAP 2004