Extremist Bombers Hit Hard Again in Iraq

Firefighters try to extinguish a car, as policemen secure the area at the scene where a car bomb exploded in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007. A parked car bomb exploded near an Iraqi army check point in Saadon street, killing six included four civilians and injuring some 25 others, police said. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed ) (Khalid Mohammed - AP)

A Shiite tribal chieftain was killed in a drive-by shooting in the southern city of Nasiriyah, the latest victim in violence between Shiite groups jockeying for power in the oil-rich region.

Early Wednesday, a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, killing at least seven officers, according to police. The blast went off on the road to Affak, southeast of Baghdad.

A few hours later, a bomb exploded near a residential building in Zaafaraniyah, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad. At least two Iraqi civilians died in the blast and two others were wounded, according to police.

U.S. commanders have said the increase in troops ordered by President Bush in January _ and the increased operations that followed _ have left al-Qaida fractured and pushed militants into remote parts of the north and south. Additional operations have been going after those pockets of fighters.

Officials have cited a drop in suicide bombings, from more than 60 in January to some 30 a month since July, along with a decrease in the flow of foreign fighters across the borders. But they acknowledge they have been unable to stop the car bombings and suicide attacks usually blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq, which is sometimes referred to by the initials AQI.

"We are not ready to declare anything other than that we have done significant damage to AQI and it is on the run in many areas," said Col. Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the top U.S. commander, Gen. David Petraeus.

Al-Qaida in Iraq "obviously remains very lethal," Boylan said.

Another U.S. spokesman in Baghdad, Rear Adm. Greg Smith, noted the numbers of car bombs have dropped significantly and are causing fewer casualties since the security operation began.

"We have certainly taken a great deal of the network down, a lot of leaders, facilitators, financiers," he said. "But it's clear out here we've got an enemy that's got a lot of fight left in him."

Iraqis have enjoyed periods of relative calm in the past, particularly after the killing last year of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but the group has proved resilient in finding new recruits and tactics to maintain its attacks.

Smith was optimistic that recent success in turning tribal leaders and other citizens against extremists would have a long-term effect, but he cautioned it was still early to declare victory.

"The trends are in the right direction," he said. "But to call it anything other than what it is _ which is a tough fight _ would be irresponsible at this point."

The U.S. military announced the arrest of several militants on both sides of the sectarian divide, including one of five extremists believed to be behind last week's rocket attack that killed two American soldiers at Camp Victory, the headquarters for American forces in Iraq.

The suspect was detained along with three associates early Monday by U.S. soldiers, who rousted them from the Agriculture Ministry in Baghdad where they were hiding, according to a statement.

"We have reason to believe that, through two intelligence-driven operations over the last few days, we now have detained all of the leadership and the key operatives of the indirect fire cell that attacked Victory Base last week," said Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, deputy commander of Baghdad operations.

The statement did not identify the militants, but the Agriculture Ministry is run by Shiite Muslims with a heavy influence by the Mahdi Army militia that is loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Separately, the military announced the capture in southern Baghdad of a suspected al-Qaida-linked militant believed to be a key leader in a car bomb network that was trying to re-establish itself after being disrupted by the U.S.-led security crackdown. Nine other suspects also were detained in that raid and others in the Baghdad area.