Surge of Iraqi forces larger than US surge

AFP:

The impending drawdown of some 30,000 US troops from Iraq will not disrupt the "relentless" pursuit of Al-Qaeda as Iraqis are ready to take their place, says US commander General David Petraeus.

Washington has projected the withdrawal of five units by July, which would bring the number of US troops in Iraq down from 160,000 currently to about 130,000 -- the level before a "surge" was launched last February.

Speaking on Wednesday in Owesat village on the banks of the Euphrates, about 25 kilometres (17 miles) southwest of Baghdad near the town of Yusufiyah, Petraeus vowed no quarter would be given in the fight against Osama bin Laden's extremist network, blamed for much of the violence in Iraq.

"We cannot let up -- they are much more on the defensive right now than they have been in years and that is where we have to keep them," Washington's top general in Iraq said as he declared the village of Owesat, just months ago a hotbed of Sunni insurgency, now secure.

"This was a small Al-Qaeda sanctuary that offered an opportunity to go right across the river and right into Baghdad," he said. "Having this secured is very important to the overall security of the Iraqi capital."

He shrugged off concerns that the US troop withdrawals could see a reversal of gains made in the past six months, when according to US figures, the number of attacks across Iraq has dropped by 62 percent.

"It is very important to remember that our surge is dwarfed by the Iraqi surge that is taking place," Petraeus said on one of his trademark "battlefield" tours, accompanied by a small group of reporters.

"The official Iraqi security forces has increased by something like 110,000 or so in the past year -- during which (time) our surge was 30,000," he said after visiting the rural village, reaching it on foot by crossing a floating bridge the US military has thrown across the Euphrates.

"There are also 70,000 plus concerned local citizens who are now helping our forces and our Iraqi partners," he added, referring to members of powerful anti-Qaeda fronts being formed across the country by the US military.

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"It is very, very important -- we have to be relentless in our push against Al-Qaeda.

"This is one reason that their ability to carry out attacks, to plant more sophisticated explosive devices and to mount the bigger attacks against us and our Iraqi partners has been diminished," added Petraeus, who next month marks one year as general commander in Iraq.

While the creation of concerned local citizens groups was paying dividends, he acknowledged there are concerns over the programme.

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The Iraqi surge has brought the force to space ratio to a point where it is difficult for the enemy to move to contact without detection and it has also significantly increased actionable intelligence, which has made it easier to find and attack the enemy, his sanctuaries and weapons caches. The CLC have been particularly important to this process and the Iraqi government is going to have to find a way to accommodate them.