EFPs in Iraq drop by half in past 6 months

[unhappycamper]

EFPs in Iraq drop by half in past 6 months
By Jim Michaels - USA Today
Posted : Tuesday Dec 11, 2007 7:23:34 EST

BAGHDAD — Attacks from armor-piercing roadside bombs that the U.S. military has linked to Iran have fallen roughly by half since June to fewer than 40 last month, the U.S. military reports.

The decline likely stems from a cease-fire called by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr during the summer and progress in attacking cells that plant the bombs, said Air Force Col. Donald Bacon, a Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman.

The number of attacks from explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, include those discovered before they detonate as well as those that explode. The U.S. military has said most are supplied by Iran.

The EFPs are primarily used by Shiite extremists and are not generally associated with al-Qaida, a Sunni group. The Bush administration accuses Iran’s Shiite regime of funding, training and equipping Shiite extremists in Iraq. Iran has denied any ties to militants in Iraq.

It is not clear whether the drop in EFP attacks means Iran has pulled back its support for militants in Iraq, said Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/gns_roadsideattacks_071211/