Coalition forces to boost Baghdad presence

BAGHDAD, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Coalition forces in Iraq plan to increase their presence in Baghdad neighborhoods, The Armed Forces Press Service reported Wednesday.

"We are going to extend our reach," U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffery W. Hammond was quoted as saying. "I want the conditions to be that there is nowhere in Baghdad that the enemy can hide. We're not going to give back any terrain."

Hammond, who leads the Multinational Division Baghdad, said coalition forces plan to add more security outposts in Baghdad.

"We're going to increase our patrols, we're going to increase out presence, we're going to take the joint security stations and the combat outposts bases, and we're going to put more of them out there," Hammond was quoted as saying.

Violence in the Iraqi capital is down significantly over last year, he said, partly because of the cease-fire order from Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr to the militia he controls.

Even so, Hammond said there is much more to do before Baghdad is safe.

"We cannot allow for an al-Qaida resurgence here in Baghdad," he said. "They continue to try to attack our Sons of Iraq, and we just can't allow any resumption of the cycle of violence by al-Qaida."