American forces are facing an increasingly dangerous environment in southern Iraq, where Shiite militias trying to claim they are driving out the US occupiers have stepped up attacks against bases and troops. The uptick in violence serves as a warning about what American forces could face if US and Iraqi officials come to an agreement about keeping more US troops in the country past December 31.
“We’re very concerned about it,” said Col. Reginald Allen, who commands the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment that operates in five, predominantly Shiite provinces. “This environment is very fluid, but in general our planning assumptions and our precautions are based on the worst case, that levels of violence will continue to increase.”
Allen’s regiment lost five soldiers in April, one of the highest months for combat-related deaths in Iraq since US forces pulled out of the cities in June 2009. Two were killed in Babil province by indirect fire – the military’s term for rockets or mortars; two more were killed by a roadside bomb in Wasit province, which borders Iran; and the last was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in Qadisiyah province.
About 46,000 American troops remain in Iraq, focusing on training Iraqi forces. That’s down from their one-time high in 2007 of nearly 170,000 troops. US soldiers still come under attack from rockets or mortars on their bases, and from roadside bombs and shootings when they’re moving around the country.