Seesaw violence in Iraq
Since the slow withdrawal of U.S. troops began in December, violence in Iraq has seesawed up and down, underscoring the instability of the country as it begins to depend more on its own security forces.
Recent statistics reviewed by The Associated Press show that while violence in Iraq is still down substantially from last summer, there have been spikes in both deaths and attacks since the drawdown began.
As an example, the daily number of coalition, U.S. and Iraqi deaths hit about 130 in mid-March, fell to below 40, swung back up to about 110-120 for several days, then has hovered around 50. The average over the last 60 days has been 50 a day, inching up only slightly in recent weeks.
According to officials, ethno-sectarian violence between Iraqis rose during March -- the first such monthly increase since last July.
At the end of March, overall violence surged as Iraqi forces battled Shiite militias in Basra. During the week of March 29 there were 865 attacks, but as the fighting eased last week and as many as 400 Shiite extremists were taken into custody, the number of attacks in Iraq dropped to roughly 680.
Defense officials warned Monday of another likely spike in attacks this week, as U.S. forces strike back at militia fighters in Sadr City. And officials also said there are indications that al-Qaida is looking for an opportunity to reassert its influence in the Baghdad region.
