Bombings drop as security tightens in Abu Ghraib

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Bombings drop as security tightens in Abu Ghraib
By Travis J. Tritten, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, January 23, 2009

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq — The number of house bombings, once a major threat to stability here, has dropped dramatically since October, the U.S. Army said.

The Abu Ghraib district suffered 53 of the bombings over a three-month period beginning last July. Since Nov. 9, no homes have been bombed, according to the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division.

The attacks largely targeted Shiite residents returning to homes abandoned during heavy fighting and ignited other violence in the district, which remains one of the most dangerous in Iraq despite vast improvements.

The decline in bombings is due to a pause in the return of refugees and an increased Iraqi security presence as members of the Sunni Awakening transferred into the army and local police, according to Lt. Col. Mario Diaz, commander of the battalion.

As violence subsided in 2008, families returned to Abu Ghraib in large numbers without government oversight, Diaz said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60187