Militants Burn Houses in Mixed Areas

Sunni extremists burned houses in a mixed city 60 miles from Baghdad over the weekend, a new tactic in the campaign to drive out citizens who don't support a sectarian agenda. Attackers burned as many as 100 homes, both Sunni and Shiite, in an apparent effort to destroy mixed neighborhoods and force allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq.

The radical Sunni organization has taken over several other towns towns in the area. Residents said the group had recently demanded money, weapons and oaths of support. American military officials said they would shift additional troops to the area as part of the surge. (More Iraq stories.)