U.S. Commander: Iraq Attacks on Troops Up

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

(2:25 PM ET)

By Tarek Al-Issawi

Associated Press Writer

Lt. Gen. Sanchez insisted the U.S.-led coalition was making progress in restoring order six months after the collapse of Saddam's rule ``but we need to accelerate it and accomplish it across all lines of operation - economic, political, security.'' He said that restoring order and getting more Iraqis back to work ``will contribute to eliminating some of the anti-coalition forces throughout the country.'' Iraqi officials estimate unemployment nationwide at more than 70 percent.

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- AP
Iraqi insurgents have stepped up attacks on U.S. troops in recent weeks, the commander of American forces said Wednesday, as ambush bombers struck again in this tense Sunni Muslim area west of Baghdad, in the northern city of Mosul and in the heart of the capital.

The U.S. commander, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said some of the attacks may be carried out by people with links to al-Qaida, but he added ``we don't have any confirmed al-Qaida operatives in custody at this point.''

Elsewhere, U.S. troops of the 4th Infantry Division arrested more than a dozen suspects, including a former major general, in pre-dawn raids Wednesday north of Baghdad.

The Baghdad bombing, which occurred as a convoy passed through a tunnel in the center of the capital, slightly injured two U.S. soldiers, who were returned to duty after treatment, a U.S. officer at the scene reported.

In Fallujah, witnesses said four Americans were carried away on stretchers after a roadside bomb exploded beside a three-vehicle convoy. The U.S. military in Baghdad had no report on the incident.

After the attack, residents cheered and swarmed over one disabled vehicle, looting its contents and setting it afire. It was the third attack against American troops in the Fallujah area in as many days.

Elsewhere, one soldier from the 101st Airborne Division was slightly injured when a bomb exploded in front of his convoy in Mosul, 225 miles north of Baghdad, the military said.

Sanchez, the American commander, acknowledged that attacks against his troops have increased in the last three weeks, especially in Anbar province which includes Fallujah.
(More: Netscape Network News with CNN)
2003 © The Associated Press.

Dan