Report: Sophisticated attacks work of Iran

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The rate of decline in al-Qaida in Iraq activity runs parallel to an increase in the sophistication of attacks, pointing to Iranian groups, a study says.

U.S. military officials say al-Qaida attacks in Iraq have declined by 80 percent since June, and the shift in attacks and strategies, such as female bombers, suggests the group is in decline.

A report by The Institute for the Study of War in Washington says the tendency to blame large-scale, well-coordinated attacks on al-Qaida in Iraq, however, benefits so-called Special Groups fighters believed backed by Iran.

The report points to a number of attacks in Diyala province against Iraqi police and U.S.-led forces. A Sept. 28 attack, for example, was blamed on al-Qaida fighters but bore the hallmarks of Special Groups activity.

These hallmarks include the use of a series of improvised explosive devices followed by small-arms fire and sniper attacks.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have coordinated their strategy to drive al-Qaida out of Iraq. If these attacks are the work of al-Qaida, the report says, officials need to assess their information on the group's activity. Furthermore, pointing to al-Qaida as the perpetrator could force the Shiite population in Iraq to seek the protection of groups that may be aligned with Iranian interests in the country.

Giving "al-Qaida in Iraq credit for attacks that they are not capable of has serious consequences," the report says.