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BAGHDAD -- The US military said Sunday it will send 3,000 more troops to a violence-ridden province northeast of Baghdad following a plea for reinforcements from the senior US commander in the area.
"There is a recognition clearly that up in Diyala there has been an up-tick in the violence," US spokesman Major General William Caldwell said at a press conference Sunday.
Caldwell said the number two US commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, had decided to move an infantry brigade equipped with Stryker armored vehicles to Diyala province.
[...]
"The most recent unit to have arrived up there is the 4th brigade 2nd infantry division, which is comprised of two Stryker battalions and one artillery battalion," Caldwell said.
The 4th Brigade 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBTC), based in Fort Lewis, Washington, was the fourth of five additional combat units called in as part of a total 28,000-strong program of reinforcements.
The 2nd SBCT is equipped with 19-tonne (21-ton) Stryker armored personnel carriers - wheeled battle taxis that can carry nine infantrymen and a crew of three, and can be armed with heavy machine-guns or anti-tank rockets.
An additional Stryker battalion had already been sent to Diyala, bringing the total increase to 3,000, Caldwell said.
Caldwell, who said he spoke to Odierno Sunday, said the general was waiting "to see what the impact is on the overall levels of violence, to make an assessment of whether any additional forces are needed."
[...]