75 percent cut in Iraq civilian deaths

BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- A U.S. commander in Iraq says regions once considered strongholds of al-Qaida operations are now more concerned with rebuilding the country's infrastructure.

Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commanding general, multinational division center, says the security successes from the troop surge have resulted in the reduction of attacks on U.S. forces from approximately 25 attacks per day to an average of less than five a day, the Defense Department reported.

As a result of operation Marne Fortitude II, the five attacks result in only one effective attack where there is a casualty. Lynch says the operation has also resulted in a 75 percent reduction in civilian casualties as well. Additionally Lynch says the major concern of the Iraqi people has shifted from security concerns to the need for a functioning infrastructure.

Lynch is also in charge of operation Marne Thunderbolt that is facing off against a former al-Qaida sanctuary in Arab Jabour, Iraq. During a recent operation 40,000 pounds of ordnance was dropped in 10-minutes resulting in the destruction of improvised explosive devices, weapons caches and militant safe houses.

Lynch says the major concern is keeping a sustained security presence and finding a way to establish irreversible momentum and prevent the security situation from backsliding.

"(It's) tenuous," Lynch said. "A good portion of our concerned citizens were probably insurgents yesterday, and they could be insurgents tomorrow, and what we're doing right now is working hard to keep them on the right side of the fence."