Washington - The top US military commander in Iraq said
Tuesday that Iran continues to back militants responsible for
attacks even as the level of support has declined.
General Ray Odierno said the training of militants in Iran has
continued as has the flow of weapons and ammunition across the
border into Iraq.
'We continue to still see training going on inside of Iran,'
Odierno told reporters in Washington via video-conference from
Baghdad. 'We still believe weapons are moving and ammunition is
moving from Iran into Iraq.'
Odierno's comments came as US combat forces met Tuesday's
deadline to withdrawal from all Iraqi cities and towns as part of an
agreement between the two countries that would have all US troops
out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
There are about 130,000 US soldiers in Iraq. President Barack
Obama has pledged to withdraw all combat troops by the end of August
2010, which would leave about 50,000 soldiers there by the following
September, Odierno said.
The pullout from Iraqi cities was celebrated across the country
as a major step toward regaining sovereignty. However, some US
soldiers will remain in the cities to assist Iraqi security forces
in training and advising. Odierno declined to provide numbers.
'I won't do it is because it's going to be different every single
day, and it'll be based on how much training, how much advising, how
much coordination is required,' Odierno said.
Despite a recent spate of high profile bombing attacks in Baghdad
and other cities, Odierno was confident that Iraqi forces are
capable of securing the cities and that al-Qaeda ability to launch
strikes has been weakened.
'Al-Qaeda has been significantly degraded here in Iraq. However,
as we've seen, over the last couple weeks, they're still capable of
some attacks,' he said.
Tehran has denied that it has been supporting militants in Iraq.
Odierno said the US military is still discovering weapons that can
be traced to Iran, although he said the flow has slowed in part
because of better coordination by US and Iraqi forces in monitoring
the border.
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