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Iraq Attacks Blamed on Islamic Extremists

(Washington Post) - Islamic extremists have emerged as "the principal threat" to security in Baghdad, said Brig. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander of the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, which controls the capital. Officers based in restive areas outside Baghdad, including the commander of an Army battalion in Fallujah and the commander of a brigade in Baqubah, said the same trend has emerged in their areas. Foreign fighters still constitute a relatively small component of the insurgency. Dempsey estimated there were only about 100 "foreign terrorists" in Baghdad. Military officials said the foreign fighters were making up for what they lacked in numbers by plugging into networks of Iraqi Sunni Muslim extremists who adhere to the same radical Wahhabi brand of Islam as bin Laden. The foreigners are bringing money, technical expertise, and encouragement to get hundreds of Iraqis to plant roadside bombs, assassinate people collaborating with occupation forces, and detonate explosive-packed vehicles.
2004-03-19 00:00:00
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