From 'Wall Street Journal': U.S. and Iraqi military officials said violence in Iraq has decreased significantly in recent weeks to levels not seen in four years. That offers some hope to officials that Iraqi security services may be making gains, following recent Iraqi-led military campaigns in Basra in the south, Baghdad's Sadr City, and Mosul in the north. U.S. military spokesman Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll said at a news conference here Sunday that weekly attacks in Iraq are down (Editor's Note: from 1600 attacks per week a year ago) to March 2004 levels, which were about 300 attacks a week.
Children play in Sadr City as Iraqi Army distributes food
Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said that after the most recent military operations in Mosul, extremist group al Qaeda in Iraq was in a "confused state." Officials have said the group had gravitated to the city after being challenged elsewhere in the country. But Adm. Driscoll cautioned that al Qaeda was still a threat and said it was too early to "pop the champagne bottle."
A significant difference about the drop in violence announced Sunday: It came following concerted efforts by Iraqi security forces backed up by American and allied firepower -- not the other way around, as has been mostly the case in the five-year Iraq war. In late March, violence soared as Iraqi forces moved against Shiite militias in Basra and elsewhere in the south. That triggered protests and reprisals in Sadr City.
Residents in Basra and Mosul increasingly have reported that their cities are more peaceful after the Iraqi-led operations. In Sadr City, sporadic fighting continues. U.S. and Iraqi officials blame that on criminal elements, who aren't obeying a recently agreed truce. As evidence of the fragility of the relative quiet, however, lawmakers loyal to Muqtada al Sadr said Saturday that the truce was being threatened by government crackdowns against his followers there.
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