Iraq: Americans vulnerable to civilian attacks

US: Insurgents using teens to stage Iraq attacks

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jun 6, 2009


BAGHDAD – Teenagers armed with grenades and suicide vests are the latest recruits for Sunni insurgents trying to find new ways to outwit heightened security measures and attack American and Iraqi forces, the U.S. military said Saturday.


The use of boys also serves a propaganda purpose — the soldiers face criticism for harming children if they fire back.


Insurgents first turned to women to carry out suicide bombings, causing U.S. and Iraqi troops to step up recruiting and training of female searchers at checkpoints to seek explosives easily hidden under women's billowing black robes.


Now they appear to be using youths and weapons that are easier to hide like grenades as they face omnipresent checkpoints and convoys aimed at bolstering security gains that have caused the level of violence to plummet nationwide.





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There is an assumption on the part of al qaida / killers that is never written about that I am aware of - in order to use women and children as shields, or otherwise, suggests al qaida is fully aware that American soldiers will hesitate before shooting anyone who is unarmed, even returning fire slowly if the civilians happen to be armed thus giving the advantage to al qaida. This is something that Western media and liberals don't understand (baby killers) but is something al qaida clearly understands and while the article dances around this fact, it is none the less a condition of American soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.









al qaida