/* */

PDA

View Full Version : Deaths in Iraq 'continue to fall'



KAding
11-01-2007, 08:52 PM
Finally some good news from Iraq.

Deaths in Iraq 'continue to fall'
The number of violent civilian and military deaths in Iraq has continued to drop, figures for October suggest.

There is no single reliable source for statistics but a number agree on a marked improvement, correspondents say.

They say this is generally attributed to the US and Iraqi troop surge in and around Baghdad that began in February.

Analysts say other key factors are the halt in operations by Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr and the abandonment of al-Qaeda by some western Sunni tribes.

The BBC's Jim Muir Baghdad says different sources do have different casualty figures for October but they all agree that the number of Iraqis killed by violence was again at a much lower level, as it had been in September.

They suggest fewer than 900 people died violent deaths, compared with nearly 2,000 in January - the worst month since the attack on the key Shia shrine in Samarra in February 2006.

Surge peak

AFP news agency quoted interior, defence and health ministry data as saying at least 554 Iraqis were killed and the bodies of another 333 people who may have been killed in previous months were found.

Both Iraqi and US military casualties were also lower.

Thirty-eight US personnel were killed in October, compared with more than 100 in each of April, May and June.

The military casualties peaked then as the US and Iraqi forces launched numerous operations to bring Baghdad and outlying areas under control.

In his report to a congressional panel last month, top US military commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, said military objectives of the surge were "largely being met".

He said that although improvements were "uneven", violence had declined significantly since the surge began.

Our correspondent says one question is whether the improvement is a predictable temporary result of the surge that might be reversed when the US military starts drawing down troops.

But analysts say what might sustain the trend is the fact that Sunni tribes in western Anbar province and elsewhere have turned against al-Qaeda and have joined government and multi-national forces.

Moqtada Sadr's Shia militia, the Mehdi Army, had been blamed for many of the abductions and killings around Baghdad and his suspension of operations has also helped the downturn.

However, our correspondent says despite the improved figures, bombings and shootings happen somewhere in Iraq every day.

On Thursday, at least 16 people were killed in a number of bomb attacks in different parts of the country. Among the attacks:

  • Six policemen were killed in an attack aimed at a local police chief in the town of Balad Ruz in Diyala province
  • Also in Diyala, a suicide car bomber killed two soldiers at a military base in al-Sadiyah
  • In eastern Baghdad, a roadside bomb went off in the district of al-Bnuq, killing three people
  • The US military said two US soldiers were killed on Wednesday in an explosion in the northern province of Nineveh.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7073160.stm
Lets hope this trend continues. The number of civilians killed in this conflict is absolutely appalling.
Reply

Login/Register to hide ads. Scroll down for more posts
Woodrow
11-04-2007, 03:00 AM
Thread Approved
Reply

jouju
11-04-2007, 05:23 AM
Am glad...May Allah give us Victory over the kaafiruun
Reply

Tania
11-04-2007, 07:48 AM
I am always shocked when i read this statistics - numbers and how many lifes destroyed.
Reply

Welcome, Guest!
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up
MTAFFI
11-07-2007, 04:04 PM
Drop in Baghdad violence sustainable: general By Dean Yates
2 hours, 19 minutes ago



BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A reduction in violence in Baghdad over the past few months represents a sustainable trend that will allow fewer U.S. troops to protect the Iraqi capital, a top American general said on Wednesday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Major-General Joseph Fil, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, said al Qaeda in Iraq no longer had a foothold in any part of the city of 7 million people. The group is blamed for most big car bombings that have killed thousands.

Death squad killings in Baghdad were also down 80 percent from their peak while roadside bombings had fallen 70 percent, Fil told foreign reporters without giving specific timeframes.

"I think there is going to come a day when certainly we will need less coalition troops in Baghdad," Fil said.

Asked when that would be, he said: "Already we are at a point where we'll see that as the surge forces depart the city, we'll see a natural decline in numbers and I'm very comfortable where that comes to, with that gradual attrition of forces."

U.S. President George W. Bush sent an extra 30,000 troops to Iraq early this year in a last-ditch attempt to halt Iraq's slide into sectarian civil war and to give the country's feuding politicians "breathing space" to reconcile.

Most of the additional troops were deployed in and around Baghdad. Some of those units will leave the city over the coming months under a plan endorsed by Bush in September that will see U.S. troop levels in Iraq fall 20,000-30,000 by the middle of next year from around the current number of 170,000.

Fil said the drops in violence in Baghdad were sustainable.

"I do think it's sustainable and that's because first of all we're working with Iraqi forces now in really almost every corner of the city," he said.

"But I also will say Baghdad is a dangerous place and al Qaeda, although on the ropes, is not finished by any means and they will come back swinging if they are allowed to."

IRAQI FORCES IMPROVING

He said levels of violence were falling every month following a spike in June.

But while fewer coalition troops would be required, more Iraqi security forces would be needed to fill any gaps, he said.

He said the Iraqi security forces had become "much, much more effective," while volunteers who patrolled their own neighborhoods in coordination with the Iraqi security forces had had a positive impact.

Another factor behind improved security in Baghdad has been an order from Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr freezing the activities of his feared Mehdi Army militia. Fil said most of the Mehdi Army in Baghdad was honoring the order.

Fil rejected suggestions Baghdad had become totally segregated into Sunni and Shi'ite enclaves, a factor some cite as a reason for the reduction in sectarian violence.

"There are parts of the city certainly that are segregated, but there are many parts that are integrated and where Sunni, Shias and even Christians are getting along very well," he said.

Fil said one thing he had noticed was that ordinary Iraqis he met now no longer hounded him about security. He said their focus was on electricity, water and jobs.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071107/...raq_baghdad_dc
Reply

fatima_01
11-07-2007, 04:08 PM
ah wikd i hope its stops totally
Reply

MTAFFI
11-07-2007, 04:37 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by fatima_01
ah wikd i hope its stops totally
that would be a true miracle wouldnt it? Just imagine how it would or possibly will go down in the history books :)
Reply

Cognescenti
11-08-2007, 05:54 AM
Note how the monthly figure from the AP is roughly equal to the daily figure from the preposterous Lancet study.

Oh well, one musn't let reality intrude on one's world view, must one?
Reply

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 13
    Last Post: 11-16-2011, 06:32 AM
  2. Replies: 25
    Last Post: 05-01-2010, 07:47 PM
  3. Replies: 21
    Last Post: 02-01-2008, 07:57 PM
  4. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 05-15-2006, 08:26 AM
  5. Replies: 2
    Last Post: 01-04-2006, 12:00 PM
British Wholesales - Certified Wholesale Linen & Towels | Holiday in the Maldives

IslamicBoard

Experience a richer experience on our mobile app!