BAGHDAD, Iraq – A brigade of 3,700 U.S. Army troops arrived in Baghdad this week, part of the Bush administration’s troop buildup aimed at quelling sectarian violence.
The soldiers from the 4th Brigade, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Lewis are part of a troop buildup ordered by President Bush in January that is expected to amount to 28,500 combat and support personnel.
The last combat brigade of 3,700 troops is due by late May. Once complete, the buildup will push the number of allied forces, predominantly from the United States, to 160,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.
Three U.S. soldiers died Wednesday in two explosions, the U.S. military reported. One soldier died of her wounds shortly after an explosive device detonated under her vehicle in western Baghdad, and another two soldiers were killed and two others wounded in a roadside bomb attack in southern Baghdad, the military reported.
The deaths brought U.S. fatalities to 3,354 since the war began in March 2003, according to a count by the Associated Press.
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Fox said in a weekly briefing Wednesday that the success of the troop buildup would not be known until late summer at the earliest. He said 57 “joint security stations” had been set up in Baghdad neighborhoods since February.
The small-scale bases are a key element of U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus’ counterinsurgency strategy in the capital.
Nearly 4,000 residents of Kamaliya demonstrated Wednesday against the opening of a security station in their eastern Baghdad neighborhood, saying the bases attract bombings by insurgents. Opponents add that troops too often respond to the bombs by firing indiscriminately at passers-by.
The U.S. military reported Wednesday that a group of sheiks in Diyala province, east of Baghdad, had agreed to a truce among themselves and promised to fight al-Qaida and Sunni Arab insurgent groups in the province. A similar accord was reached by sheiks in Anbar province last month.
Also, police uncovered two caches of weapons in eastern Baghdad, including 400 pounds of C-4 explosives, 85 sets of body armor, nine pairs of night-vision goggles, and 120 Iranian-made assault rifles. Despite the extra troops, Baghdad remains a dangerous place.
At least eight people were killed and two dozen wounded by mortars fired in Baghdad and Hillah on Wednesday, police said.
Interior ministry sources said 30 unidentified bodies were found dumped in Baghdad, all men killed by gunshots. A suicide bomb exploded Wednesday afternoon in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, killing four people and injuring 25.
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