Fresh American soldiers are to be brought into Baghdad following the failure of a six-week-old security clampdown to quell a surge in violence in the capital, US officers have said.
The size of the redeployment has not been disclosed, but units which were due to be sent elsewhere in the country are being diverted to the capital. "They've been redirected to Baghdad," said US Major Scott Coulson, according to AFP. "Where they were going before, they're not going now."
On Monday, Iraqi defence and health officials said one Iraqi soldier died and two were injured in one of three Baghdad bombings in which one civilian was also killed.
The bodyguard of a Sunni politician was shot dead in west Baghdad, and the bodies of at least 23 people were discovered, including eight found shot dead and dumped on the roadside in the southwest of the city.
Meanwhile, followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Monday denounced the Iraqi prime minister's trip to Washington. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki left Sunday for talks with President Bush to review sectarian violence. The statement from al-Sadr's supporters said they see the visit "as a vague and empty sign, especially since it occurred as security deteriorated in the country."
"We want him to cut his visit and not to sign any paper leading to occupation forces remaining in Iraq," the statement by the al-Sadr movement said.
