BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents have sought to intensify attacks during a Baghdad 
security crackdown and additional US forces will be sent to areas outside the 
capital where militant groups are regrouping, the new commander of US forces in 
Iraq said Thursday. 
 
 
   US soldiers of the 6-9 squadron, 3rd 
 brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, briefly detain Iraqis as they inspect their 
 car in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, 
 Wednesday, March 7, 2007, during a routine patrol. [AP]
   | 
 US Gen. David Petraeus said 
the troop buildups outside Baghdad will focus on Diyala province northeast of 
Baghdad, a growing hotbed for suspected Sunni extremists fleeing the US-Iraqi 
security operation in Baghdad. 
But Petraeus stressed that military force alone is "not sufficient" to end 
the violence in Iraq and political talks must eventually include some militant 
groups now opposing the US-backed government. 
"This is critical," Petraeus said in his first news conference since taking 
over command last month. He noted that such political negotiations "will 
determine in the long run the success of this effort." 
Petraeus listed a series of high-profile attacks since US and Iraqi forces 
began the security sweep three weeks ago, including a suicide blast at a mostly 
Shiite university and an assassination attempt against one of Iraq's vice 
presidents. 
The Pentagon has pledged 17,500 combat troops to the capital. Petraeus has 
said the full contingent should not be in place until early June. He declined to 
say how many US forces will be deployed to Diyala, which the group al-Qaida in 
Iraq has made one its main staging grounds. 
Military officials believe many insurgents have shifted from Baghdad to 
Diyala to escape the security operation. 
"Car bombs have targeted hundreds of Iraqis," Petraeus said. He also 
denounced the wave of other attacks, including the "thugs with no soul" who have 
killed more than 150 Shiite pilgrims in the past three days. 
"We share the horror" of witnessing the suicide bombings and shootings 
against the pilgrims, he said. 
Hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims have been streaming by bus, car and 
foot toward the holy city of Karbala, about 50 miles south of Baghdad, for 
annual religious rituals that begin Friday. 
The Shiite religious rites mark the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam 
Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein's death in a 7th-century 
battle near Karbala cemented the schism between Sunnis and Shiites. 
Petraeus said US forces are ready to help provide additional security for the 
pilgrims if asked by Iraqi authorities. 
"It is an enormous task to protect all of them and there is a point at which 
if someone is willing to blow up himself ... the problem becomes very, very 
difficult indeed," he said. 
But Petraeus added that he saw no role for the powerful Shiite militia known 
as the Mahdi Army, which had sent out fighters to guard the pilgrimage in the 
past two years. 
He said "extremist elements" in the militia have been engaged in "true 
excesses" in the past - an apparent reference to suspected gangs carrying out 
targeted killings against Sunnis.