Troop Surge, Iraqis’ Anger Puts al Qaeda ‘On the Run’

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2007 – A combination of unceasing pressure by U.S. and Iraqi security forces and citizens’ anger at al Qaeda in Iraq’s brutal tactics have put the terror group “on the run,” a senior U.S. military officer said today. “The targeting of (al Qaeda in Iraq) leadership and their networks has contributed to the downward trend in violence we are seeing across Iraq,” the admiral said.
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Iraqi security forces are gaining in numbers and effectiveness and are increasingly taking the lead during anti-insurgent operations, Smith said. Iraqi commandos recently captured an entire group of terrorists during a raid west of Ramadi, he said. “The precision operation captured all four primary targets in this cell and four other suspects.”
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More than 67,000 concerned Iraqi citizen-volunteers also are contributing in the fight against the terrorists, Smith said. As a result, al Qaeda operatives in Iraq are “on the run,” Smith observed. The insurgents realize they have dwindling maneuvering room, he said, and “the Iraqi people are just not going to put up” with them.

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