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US Sees Huge Gains in Baghdad Security

Posted Jan 18, 08 8:37 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – US and Iraqi forces have secured 75% of Baghdad's neighborhoods, a sharp increase from pre-surge days, USA Today reports. The combined forces "basically own the streets," said a US colonel. Military figures say that 356 of 474 of the city's neighborhoods have returned to some semblance of normalcy, with violence all but eliminated and economic activity returning. A year ago, fewer than 40 of those neighborhoods were deemed secure.

"In areas that are in 'control' status, the complaint is not security," the colonel said. "The complaint is essential services." Iraqi officials are struggling to restore electricity and water to residents. The security gains follow the US decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq last year.

Source USA Today

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Performers and Shiite believers take part in a Festival of Muharram procession in north Baghdad's Kazimiyah neighborhood, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. A suicide bomber struck Shiites for the second...   (Associated Press)
People queue for kerosene at a gas station in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. Baghdad continues to shiver through a cold spell that has drawn renewed attention to the country's everyday miseries   (Associated Press)
Shiites beat their chests as a sign of grief for Imam Hussein during a Festival of Muharram procession in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. A suicide bomber struck Shiites for the second day in...   (Associated Press)
Iraqi army soldiers guard the entrance to a church as believers exit after attending prayers in Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, Iraq, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. About 3 per cent of Iraq's estimated population...   (Associated Press)
Iraqi soldiers stand behind a van as they secure an area in Baghdad. Iraqi forces are taking control of a growing number of Baghdad neighbourhoods, but the US is wary of withdrawing its forces too soon...   (Getty Images)
US troops secure the area as their comrades search a Baghdad house. The US military now rates 75% of Baghdad as secure, up dramatically from 8% a year ago, before the surge began.   (Getty Images)
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