U.S. lauds Iraqi insurgent crackdown

BAGHDAD, July 2 (UPI) -- The deployment of some 2,000 Iraqi anti-insurgent forces has been praised by U.S. military officials, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Since Washington announced intentions to reduce troop numbers in Iraq earlier this year, Shiite militants have stepped up attacks on U.S. troops, 14 of whom were killed in June, the report.

However, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has deployed a U.S.-trained special forces military and police group to infiltrate and thwart militant activity, the Times reported.

The force is having a notable effect, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan said.

"They are going after specific targets and were following intelligence leads and doing detailed searches to find weapons caches," the general said.

He said the number of attacks on road convoys hasn't diminished, but rocket and mortar attacks on U.S. installations have declined.

The Iraqi force is concentrated in the southern province of Maysan, a hotbed of guerrilla activity for Shiite Muslims. Many are followers of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, who ironically is a political supporter of Maliki's government, the report said.

Buchanan said Maliki's willingness to take on the insurgents was both good and bad news for the Iraqi government.

"As they understand where the support is coming from and they see our forces withdraw, they realize these groups are not going to be gone when we leave and they [insurgents] are still going to be here, and that has added energy to the long-term threat from these groups," he said.