[AP/Washington Post] Kim Gamel - The number of attacks launched by breakaway factions of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia has increased, said Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the U.S. second-in-command in Iraq. He said 73% of the attacks that wounded or killed U.S. troops last month in Baghdad were launched by Shiite militiamen, nearly double the figure six months earlier, and added that Iran has sharply increased its support for the fighters. "Because of the effect we've had on al-Qaeda in Iraq and the success against them and the Sunni insurgency, it's now shifted," he said. Dissident members of the Mahdi Army broke away from al-Sadr control and went to Iran for training and armaments, returning to Iraq to fight against U.S. and Iraqi troops.
2007-08-06 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive