Forces see spike in IEDs in April

American and Iraqi forces in Baghdad have been targeted with 251 improvised bombs this month — nearly double the monthly average — as fighting in and around Sadr City intensified.

Some of the attacks involved deadly armor-piercing bombs that the U.S. military has linked to Iran, said Army Brig. Gen. Mike Milano, deputy commander of the American division in the capital.

The numbers, provided by the Multi-National Division-Baghdad, include bombs that were detonated or found before they were triggered.

On average, 42% are discovered before they are detonated.

The increase in bombings partly reflects a struggle for control of the roads into Sadr City, a Shiite slum of more than 1 million people in eastern Baghdad.

U.S. and Iraqi forces attempt to block militias from moving weapons and explosives into the area.

Seven of the 251 roadside bombs this month were found or detonated in the past week, suggesting fighting in Sadr City is declining.

Green Zone attacks

Iraqi forces lead the operation in the Shiite area and are backed by several thousand American troops.

Two brigades of Iraqi forces, 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers, operate in Sadr City, attempting to clear it of militias.

U.S. and Iraqi forces entered the Shiite area because many of the rockets and mortars fired into the Green Zone, the fortified area that houses U.S. and Iraqi government offices, originated in southern Sadr City.

At least 14 of the 33 American combat deaths in Iraq this month have occurred in Baghdad, according to a database maintained by USA TODAY.

Milano said casualties among Iraqi security forces are about three times the number of Americans killed or injured.

The number of roadside bombs in Baghdad has declined since last year when about 30,000 additional U.S. troops arrived in Iraq as part of a new strategy to protect civilians. The strategy, known as the "surge," led to a broad decline in violence.

In May 2007, as reinforcements were arriving in Iraq, there were 432 improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs, in Baghdad.

The number dropped to 114 in January but has increased every month since then and reached the highest level this month since August of 2007, according to the Multi-National Division-Baghdad.

Clashes with Shiite militias began last month when Iraqi forces confronted militants in Basra, a heavily Shiite city in southern Iraq. The fighting between militias and U.S.-backed Iraqi troops quickly spread to Sadr City.

The fighting has led to a spike in violence, but levels are lower than before the surge strategy.

Together, U.S. and Iraqi forces occupy about one-quarter of Sadr City, mostly in the southern part of the sprawling slum of narrow alleys and streets.

The forces also control most access into the area.

'Trained by Iran'

Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, who commands the U.S. division based just south of the capital, said clashes have further exposed Iranian support for Shiite extremists. Lynch said 25 of 100 Shiite extremists detained in recent fighting have admitted to some link to Iran.

Under questioning, the detainees "have attested to the fact that they were either trained in Iran, trained by Iranian agents inside of Iraq or trained by Iraqi insurgents that had been trained by Iran," Lynch said.

He said U.S. and Iraqi forces have uncovered large caches of Iranian-linked munitions.

The division recently uncovered a cache that included 20 explosively formed penetrators, the armor-piercing roadside bombs that the U.S. military has linked to Iran, according to the Multi-National Division-Central.

"What we're seeing now is a more effective use of the Iranian munitions that are in our area, and that's directly tied back to more sophisticated training techniques," Lynch said. "This is the first time I've seen the Iranian rockets launched with such precision and such a pattern, and that's directly attributed to more intensified training." 

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