Baghdad, Iraq – The U.S. military warned Thursday that insurgents are adopting new tactics in a campaign to spread panic after troops uncovered a car-bomb factory with propane tanks and chlorine cylinders – possible ingredients for more chemical attacks following three explosions involving chlorine.
Those blasts and a recent spate of attacks against helicopters have raised fears that insurgents are trying to develop new ways to confront U.S. and Iraqi forces. Any increase in chemical bombings could complicate the Baghdad security crackdown, now in its second week.
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the No. 2 American commander in Iraq, said he did not think the attacks signaled a more capable insurgency. Instead, he said, they were an attempt to provoke fear.
The general also said at least two suspects have been arrested in the downing of eight helicopters since Jan. 20, but he gave no further details.
The raid on the car-bomb factory occurred late Tuesday in the volatile western province of Anbar, U.S. authorities said. U.S. troops discovered a pickup truck and three other vehicles that were being prepared as car bombs, as well as detonation material in five buildings.
Insurgents have detonated three trucks carrying chlorine canisters since late January. The most recent attack occurred Wednesday in Baghdad, killing five people and sending more than 55 to hospitals.
Elsewhere in Anbar province, Sunni insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked U.S. troops in the volatile city of Ramadi, setting off a six- hour firefight that killed at least 12 people, the U.S. military said Thursday. Iraqi authorities said the dead included women and children.
One U.S. soldier was killed and three others were wounded in a roadside bombing Thursday near the Shiite city of Diwaniyah, the U.S. command said.
Nationwide, at least 19 people were killed or found dead Thursday, including 14 bullet-riddled bodies showing signs of torture that were found in Baghdad and two in the southeastern city of Kut. Three others were shot to death in the northern city of Mosul.
Also Thursday, an Iraqi official said four Iraqi soldiers were accused of raping a 50-year-old Sunni woman and the attempted rape of her two daughters – the second allegation of sexual assault leveled against Iraqi forces this week.
Brig. Gen. Nijm Abdullah said the alleged attack took place about 10 days ago in the northern city of Tall Afar during a search for weapons and insurgents. A lieutenant and three enlisted men denied the charge but later confessed after they were confronted by the woman, a Turkoman, Abdullah said.
