US and Iraqi officials on Wenesday claimed that civilian deaths had declined precipitously in Baghdad since the push to secure the capital began a month ago.
The Americans acknowledged, however, that car bombs remained a big threat that could restart the cycle of violence, and said they were concentrating operations in areas where such weapons were believed to be assembled.
Brigadier Qassim Moussawi, Iraqi military spokesman, said the number of Iraqis killed by violence in Baghdad in the 30 days since Operation Enforcing the Law began was 265, down from 1,440 killed in the previous month. He said that the number of attacks in surrounding provinces had increased, although he did not provide figures.
Major General William Caldwell, US military spokesman, meanwhile said: “Murders and executions have come down by over 50 per cent [in Baghdad].”
He acknowledged there had been a slight climb in the number killed in the last seven days, but not as much as at the equivalent point in the cycle of previous Baghdad security plans. “This past week is normally the week in which the number of murders goes back to their previous levels,” he said.
Stepped-up operations by US and Iraqi forces appear to have had much more impact on death-squad activity than on car bombings, however.
Brig Moussawi said the number of car bombs had declined in the last month from to 36 from 56, but blasts attributed to Sunni insurgents, such as a March 6 pedestrian suicide attack on a procession of Shia pilgrims, which killed nearly 120 people, continue to take a high toll.
Even before the offensive, the radical Shia militiamen who are believed to be responsible for most such killings around the capital began disappearing from the streets, and some Shia claim this has left them vulnerable to Sunni extremists.
“If the high-profile car bombs can be stopped or brought down to a much lower level, we’ll just see an incredible difference in the city overall,” Maj Gen Caldwell said. “The high-profile car bombs is the one [form of attack] we’re really focused on because that’s what will start that whole cycle of violence again.”
Many of the car bombs detonated in Baghdad are believed to be assembled in the predominantly Sunni parts of the belt of farmland surrounding the city, and US forces have in recent days stepped up operations in the capital’s southern outskirts.
US troops have also been moving into areas outside Baghdad that have also been hit hard by sectarian violence, such as Diala province, where 700 US troops equipped with Stryker armoured vehicles redeployed on Wednesday.
The full 21,500-strong force that was earmarked for Iraq as part of the US troop surge announced in January will not be in place for several more months, Maj Gen Caldwell said.
Two of five brigades were in place and a third was currently deploying through Kuwait, he said.
Map of Iraq

Iraqi Brigadier General Qassim Atta al-Mussawi reported that ''Operation Law and Order'' (Arabic: ''Fardh Al-Qanoon'') has been successful in curbing violence in the capital.  Coalition forces have swept through various Baghdad neighborhoods in the past few months.  Atta, a spokesperson for the operation cited comparative statistics for the four-week periods of mid-January to mid-February versus mid-February to mid-March:
* Civilian killing: 1440 to 265
* Roadside bombings: 163 to 102
* Carbombs: 56 to 36
* Mortar attacks: 204 to 109
* Assassination incidents: 519 to 22
* Kidnappings: 98 to 10

It is not clear what these numbers are based on, and independent estimates of the death toll are much higher. According to data compiled by Iraq Body Count (IBC), a volunteer project that maintains a database of civilian deaths in Iraq from media reports, at least 393 people died in and around Baghdad between February 15 and March 11.

The ''New York Times'' estimates 450 Iraqi civilian deaths in and around the capital in the period, using initial reports provided by hospitals and the Iraqi Interior ministry.

The Associated Press reports that deaths from bombings have dropped by a third (528 to 370) after the start of the operations. It also reports that the number of bodies found in Baghdad, believed to be victims of sectarian death squads, has dropped from more than 200 a week to about 80 a week.

At a separate news-conference, US military spokesperson Major General William Caldwell said the security plan is showing signs of progress. "The murders and executions have come down by over 50 percent," Caldwell said. He did acknowledge that reduced violence in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood may be linked to the absence of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who he said was still in neighboring Iran as of 24 hours ago.

All this comes as the United States Congress is debating resolutions on re-deploying troops from Iraq.  The troop surge has also been in recent debate on whether or not it is the right move as of now.  Meanwhile the United Kingdom announced that it would start withdrawing soon.