Violence in Iraq Continues to Drop, Corps Commander Says

Violence in Iraq – even in the midst of the holy month of Ramadan, which has seen increases in violence in the past – continues its downward trend, the commander of coalition ground forces in Iraq said today.

“We've experienced continued low levels of violence, with 15 of the last 16 weeks remaining below the 200-attacks-per-week mark,” he said. “In Baghdad, … we've averaged less than four attacks per day for the last 13 weeks.”

It’s notable that the decrease has continued during Ramadan, Austin said.

“We did see a small spike in attacks over the weekend,” he acknowledged, “but I can tell you that even with the spike, we are well below what we saw last year and the year before that.”

While events are moving in a positive direction, there remains much to do, he said.

“The environment here … can change rapidly, and so we have to guard against things that could change our course,”

the general said.

READ MORE