BAGHDAD — Although overall violence in Iraq has dropped to levels not seen on a sustained basis since the summer of 2005, suicide bombings appear to be making a comeback, according to figures released Saturday by the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
Responsibility for such attacks typically is claimed by the Sunni militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq, which Gen. David H. Petraeus said remained the greatest threat in the country.
Underscoring the threat posed by the group, the U.S. military announced the discovery of three bodies at a site north of Baghdad that a resident said contained a mass grave.
The discovery Friday about eight miles northwest of Baqubah coincided with reports that Al Qaeda in Iraq had used a nearby shack to hold and torture kidnapped victims, said Lt. Col. Patrick Mackin, intelligence officer for the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
U.S.-led forces dug up one of the bodies after getting a tip from the resident, who said the site contained about 20 corpses, the military said in a statement. It appeared that the victim had been buried at least a month, it said. He had been shot in the head and his hands were tied in front of him.
U.S. soldiers found assorted clothing scattered on the ground about 275 yards from the uncovered body.
Two other skeletons were found by residents, the statement said.
Despite such discoveries, a spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry said Saturday that U.S. and Iraqi forces had destroyed 75% of the Al Qaeda in Iraq network, a mostly local movement that U.S. intelligence indicates is foreign-led. Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf did not specify how that determination was made but said groups of fighters remained active in areas north of the capital, which include Baqubah.
"We're working on pursuing those groups. That is the coming fight," Khalaf told reporters Saturday.
Petraeus said the number of high-profile bombings, a trademark of Sunni insurgents, had dropped 60% from a peak of more than 120 in March. The most noticeable drop was in remotely detonated car bombs, according to a chart he presented at a separate briefing.
But suicide attacks using explosives vests and car bombs began to inch back up in November and December, the chart showed. At least 24 people were killed and as many as 100 injured in two suicide bombings on Christmas Day.
Military officials say the drop in attacks has been accompanied by a 75% decline in civilian deaths in Baghdad since June.
