Al-Qaida activity growing in Iraq?

Al-Qaida on the rise in Iraq

The so-called emir of al-Qaida in Iraq advanced stark threats against Iran and the United States, using Islamic propaganda and Israel as recruiting tools.

Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the emir of al-Qaida and "war minister" for the Islamic State of Iraq, issued a 40-minute audio tape prior to the reported capture of ISI leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.

In the tape, Masri, who is considered an expert in the manufacturing of explosive devices, calls for the unification of mujahedin elements in Iraq, saying the Islamic community should honor its religious duty by joining the jihad, a review by The Jamestown Foundation says.

Masri, like other militants, says the primary threat to Iraq is the United States and its proxies in Baghdad, who have ceded control over the country to the Iranians.

Those statements coincide with a marked uptick in violence targeting Iranian pilgrims in Iran while reports circulate on the increased activity of Iranian-backed "Special Groups" in the country.

Masri goes on to use Islamic propaganda regarding the influence of Israel in the region as a rallying cry to convince Muslims to join the Iraqi jihad against foreign occupation.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates claims al-Qaida is behind the latest spate of attacks in Iraq, saying the terrorist group is seeking to stoke sectarian conflict as American forces prepare to pull out of major Iraqi cities in June.

The developments come as U.S. military officials said April was the deadliest month for American forces in Iraq, doubling the number of March deaths.

Anbar officials confident despite violence

Police officials in the western Iraqi province of Anbar said their forces were capable of securing the area as three U.S. troops died there in recent clashes.

Anbar emerged as the stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq in 2003. The U.S. military, in coordination with the Sons of Iraq paramilitary force of tribal elders with the Anbar Awakening Council, effectively took control over Anbar as part of the counterinsurgency strategy known as the surge.

Anbar remained tense in recent months, as disputes in the wake of the January provincial elections brought fears that rivals would resort to violence, though the situation was resolved through diplomatic negotiations.

Anbar's police chief, Maj. Gen. Tariq al-Asal, told Iraqi analytical Web site Niqash that despite the challenges of the vast desert regions and a porous border his forces were improving in their capabilities.

"Now there is a positive and significant 75-percent improvement in the security conditions and this is because of the security forces, tribes and citizens' efforts," he said.

U.S. military forces are obligated under the terms of a bilateral Status of Forces Agreement to pull out of major cities in Iraq in June. Asal said his forces were already conducting independent patrols in the province without the help of U.S. forces.

"The police and army have full control over all of Anbar's soil," he said.

His comments come as U.S. military officials announced three American soldiers were killed in combat operations in Anbar earlier in the week, making April the deadliest month for U.S. forces in 2009.

Iraqi navy secures oil terminals

Iraqi naval forces took responsibility for the protection of oil terminals off the coast of Basra from their American counterparts in Bahrain.

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain handed over the security of the Khawr al-Amaya oil terminal in the Persian Gulf to Iraqi naval forces, the Navy Times reports.

"The Iraqi navy is ready and capable of assuming security responsibility for the Khawr al-Amaya oil terminal," said U.S. Rear Adm. T.C. Cropper. "This milestone represents another indication of increasing Iraqi operational independence."

The Khawr al-Amaya and nearby Basra oil terminals account for about 80 percent of the gross domestic product of Iraq. American forces used naval patrols to protect both terminals since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Iraqi forces will join their British and American counterparts protecting the Basra oil terminal as well. A transfer ceremony for Khawr al-Amaya coincided with an announcement from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that his forces had ended their combat mission in Iraq.

Elements of the British Royal Navy and Royal Marines will remain behind to train the fledgling Iraqi navy, however.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military reports the Iraqi navy is training for the May launch of the Fatah Patrol Ship 701 as the flagship of the fledgling naval force.

Since January, 34 Iraqi crew members have trained on the patrol ship, an Italian ship scheduled for reflagging May 15.

British Afghan plan criticized

A decision by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to reject calls for a moderate troop surge to Afghanistan was met with a degree of concern on several fronts.

British defense officials, backed by Defense Secretary John Hutton, called for a 2,000-strong troop surge to complement the roughly 8,000 British troops stationed in the southern Helmand province in Afghanistan.

Brown, however, responded this week with commitments of 700 troops scheduled to deploy later this summer to help secure the Afghan presidential elections in August, the Financial Times reports.

Meanwhile, the British mission in Afghanistan is dragging on the national budget with costs over the next year approaching $4.5 billion, whereas funding for Iraqi operations never passed $2.3 billion.

Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, for his part, lashed out at the Brown agenda, writing in The Independent that the plan was "spectacularly inadequate."

Similar criticisms were waged against the Washington strategy, saying the American troop commitment fell far short of the levels outlined in conventional counterinsurgency doctrine.

Still some noted that, with 8,000 American troops and thousands more NATO forces headed for Afghanistan, the combined international effort in Afghanistan may be sufficient.

60 possible candidates for Afghan elections

Afghan elections officials say there may be as many as 60 candidates, including two women, who could challenge incumbent President Hamid Karzai in August.

Daud Ali Najafi with the Independent Election Commission in Afghanistan told reporters several potential candidates have collected registration forms from his office this week, RIA Novosti reports.

"Sixty potential candidates have visited the commission for information and have received registration forms," Najafi said.

The 2004 presidential elections in Afghanistan, the first such election there, had 25 registered candidates, though only 18 were listed on the final ballot.

Karzai has announced he would run for a second term in the August elections, though Najafi said the incumbent has yet to register his name.

Candidates must collect 10,000 signatures backing their presidential bid and make a $1,000 deposit to the election committee to register formally.

Najafi said that more than 60 people have collected the registration form since Monday, but none were returned to his office.

Possible challengers to Karzai include former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani and Nangarhar provincial Gov. Gul Agha Shirzai, a former warlord.

The elections committee estimates there are about 17 million voters registered in Afghanistan.

Afghan police force makes progress

Military officials in Afghanistan said that, while the country faces no shortage of police forces, they are met with several challenges from the insurgency.

Militias and tribal forces acted in control of the country during the decades-long conflict following the Soviet invasion in 1979, sidelining any formal police force. Years of rule under the Taliban brought no gains on that front.

U.S. President Barack Obama emphasized training Afghan forces as part of the new Washington strategy for the beleaguered nation, adding a supervisory element to the military effort.

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Anne Macdonald, a police development commander in Kabul, said this training effort will help Afghan forces eventually stand as an independent force, Pakistan's International News Network reports.

"We can help, but ultimately it is going to be up to Afghan security forces, most notably the police, to make the difference," she said.

For his part, Afghan Police Brig. Gen. Khudeidad Agher said the roughly 80,000 members of the Afghan police are emerging as a capable force, adding the U.S.-led training effort can only make improvements.

"The police are more professional and better trained, and when the police training teams come in they will be even better," he said.

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