Ramadan violence falls sharply in Iraq: U.S

By Paul Tait

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Violence in Iraq during Ramadan has fallen by almost 40 percent from last year, the U.S. military said on Sunday, despite a warning from al Qaeda that it would increase attacks during the Muslim holy month.

U.S. military spokesman Rear Admiral Mark Fox said a "surge" of 30,000 extra troops into Iraq this year and the new tactic of moving soldiers into small combat outposts instead of "commuting to the war" from large bases had helped bring down violence.

"We are substantially below last year's level. As a matter of fact, in comparison to this time last year, about 38 percent lower in terms of Ramadan violence levels," he told a news conference, adding that that overall levels were still too high.

With evidence pointing to a drop in violence since the extra troops were deployed, the U.S. embassy in Iraq issued a strongly worded statement criticizing a U.S. Senate resolution calling for separate Sunni Arab, Shi'ite and Kurdish federal regions.

"Attempts to partition or divide Iraq by intimidation, force or other means into three separate states would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed," the embassy said.

"Our goal in Iraq remains ... a democratic, federal Iraq that can govern, defend, and sustain itself," it said.

The U.S. Senate passed a non-binding resolution on Wednesday which called for "a federal system of government and ... federal regions". It was rejected by the Iraqi government and other critics as an attempt to partition the country.

Iraq's 2005 constitution allows for possible federal structures. The northern Kurdistan region has significant autonomy, although majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs oppose greater federalism as a step towards dividing Iraq.

ESCALATE ATTACKS

In northern Mosul, police said 11 hand-cuffed bodies, all showing signs of torture, were found dumped in one place. All had been shot. Another five bodies were found in Baghdad.

The U.S. military said its forces killed 20 suspected insurgents after a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire targeted a U.S. aircraft northwest of Baghdad on Saturday.

Al Qaeda said at the start of Ramadan, more than two weeks ago, that it would escalate attacks and would target tribal leaders who were cooperating with security forces.

Marine Brigadier-General Mark Gurganus, commander of U.S. ground troops in Anbar province in western Iraq, said there had been 76 attacks in the first week of Ramadan in his area of command, and 91 in the second week.

"One year ago, during the same week, we had 415 incidents. The 38 percent reduction across Iraq -- we enjoyed quite a bit sharper," Gurganus said.

Anbar was once the most dangerous province in Iraq for Iraqis and U.S. troops but is now being hailed as one of Iraq's few success stories after U.S. forces helped local Sunni Arab sheikhs organize their young men into tribal police units.