Word: iraqi
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...gone like this - relative calm in the city during the day followed on many evenings by a chorus of explosions around the city. In the past several days, however, dawn has brought blasts of its own, a seeming answer by insurgents and militia fighters to assertions by U.S. and Iraqi officials that Baghdad and other areas of Iraq are on the mend...
...bombs went off in areas north of Baghdad, leaving at least 26 people dead across the country in all for the day. On Thursday, a volley of 10 mortars sailed into the Green Zone, which had enjoyed many weeks without such attacks. And earlier that day insurgent fighters attacked Iraqi security forces in the southern reaches of the capital in fighting that left least 13 dead...
...Iraqi civilian casualties have also declined dramatically. According to the Associated Press 750 civilians were killed in October - still a high number, but down well over 50% from late last year. Much of that decline reflects the declining influence of the Sunni terrorist group al-Qaeda in Iraq, and a reduction in sectarian violence. But the tactics of choice for Shi'ite militia groups - rocket and mortar attacks and sophisticated roadside bombings - have also waned...
...American troops attempted to establish a constant presence in Baghdad's neighborhoods, local insurgents and militia groups pushed back. In 9 Nisan, Sauer's troops sought to demonstrate to residents that they and the Iraqi government, not the militia, controlled the streets. But local militants loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army would not give up their turf without a fight. "It was a contest of wills," Freeman says. "We just kept coming at them, and going out there, and getting into the neighborhood...
...militia has sought to avoid open confrontations with U.S. forces. The Americans must eventually leave and the Mahdi Army will remain in some form. Still, says Sauer, "Every day that goes by without violence is a win" - a window of opportunity for American troops and their Iraqi allies to weaken the militia's grip on Baghdad's neighborhoods...