Iraq sacks 1,300 troops over Shiite crackdown

April 31, 2008
Iraq sacks 1,300 troops over Shiite crackdown

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq has dismissed 1,300 policemen and soldiers for failing to perform their duties during a crackdown on Shiite militiamen in the south of the country, an official said on Sunday.

"Those people did not do their duties in Basra and Kut," interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said referring to the southern and central cities.

U.S. troop deaths up

August 7, 2007
U.S. troop deaths up

BAGHDAD - Four more U.S. troops and a British soldier have died in attacks, military officials said Tuesday, in a possible sign that extremists are regrouping after a drop in American deaths last month.

The spate of recent U.S. deaths — 19 so far in August — seems certain to intensify the debate over U.S. progress to calm Iraq and gain ground against militants ahead of a key September report to Congress.

But U.S. commanders say rogue Shiite militias have stepped into the gap left as Sunni insurgents have been pushed back, and are now responsible for most attacks on Americans in Baghdad and surrounding districts. Such a trend would elevate fears that Iraqi forces are not yet able to maintain security even when insurgents are beaten back. Large numbers of Iraqi police are believed also to hold allegiances to Shiite militia groups.

The spike in deaths comes as the overall number of U.S. troops in Iraq has temporarily peaked at its all-time high — nearly 162,000 — as new units arrive to replace those on the way out, the Pentagon said.