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US commander says militias hard to spot in Baghdad

Aug-23-2006 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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By Ross Colvin

BAGHDAD, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Militias blamed for much of the sectarian violence that has pitched Iraq towards civil war may have melted back into the population to escape a major security crackdown, a U.S. military commander acknowledged on Wednesday.

"The militias are within the people. They blend in with the people. It is very difficult to identify them when they lay down their arms," Colonel Michael Shields told reporters in Baghdad.

He was responding to questions about the relatively low number of arrests and weapons seized during a two-week-old operation to stem a surge in violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunnis that has killed thousands in recent months.

The possibility that the operation, which has focused on the most volatile districts of Baghdad, had simply displaced death squads to other areas was also "a concern", he said.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have been going street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood searching houses for weapons and suspects in a make-or-break operation to restore stability.

But there have been no major confrontations with any militants so far. Military analysts had warned at the start of the operation that insurgents and militias could simply disperse, hide their weapons and try to wait out U.S. forces.

"We did a good job of isolating the neighbourhoods. Could some individuals have fled the area? Of course," said Shields, who commands the 172nd Stryker Brigade, at a briefing at Camp Liberty military base in western Baghdad.

"The potential reality is that some high-level leaders did move out of the area before we executed" the operation, he said.


Comments For "US commander says militias hard to spot in Baghdad":

It was fairly obvious that this would happen. A positive effect, though, is the resultant decrease in terror activity allowing other activities to take place with less disruption.

Posted by: Bob Loblaw [TypeKey Profile Page] | August 23, 2006 12:36 PM

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