IRAQ: The top US military commander in Iraq said yesterday it appeared the crisis had passed after days of bloodshed there between religious sects, but he conceded that a major new terror attack would threaten stability again.
Gen George Casey played down suggestions the country was headed for civil war, but admitted anything could happen.
He spoke as violence spawned by the bombing of a Shia shrine continued with yet another deadly day.
Military officials believe that about 350 civilians overall have been killed in the violence since the bombing. Thursday's attacks alone claimed 58 lives.
"Now it appears that the crisis has passed," he said in a briefing from Baghdad with reporters.
"But we all should be clear: Iraqis remain under threat of terrorist attack by those who will stop at nothing to undermine the formation of the constitutionally elected government."
He added: "I think it's safe to say that a major attack, particularly on a religious site, would have a significant impact on the situation here coming in the next couple of days." He said officials routinely heard about probable terrorist activity. He would not confirm reports that intelligence had picked up warnings that a high-profile attack in Iraq was being planned by al-Qaeda.
Gen Casey said he still planned to make recommendations on troop withdrawals to the administration within a few months. But he said Iraq's sectarian militias were a long-term problem for the Iraqi government, and "there's no silver-bullet quick solution to it". The latest round of killings was prompted by the February 22nd bombing of the Shia mosque in the central city of Samarra, and reprisals that followed against Sunni mosques.
During the violence there were increased problems with private armed militias, particularly involving lapses by Iraqi security forces. Gen Casey said that while Iraqi forces responded fairly well, in several instances militia members were allowed to pass through security checkpoints.
"It will take a holistic effort to get at the militia issue," he said. "I do not believe that we will ultimately succeed until the Iraqi security forces, the police and the military, are the only ones in Iraq with guns."