No place in Iraq is safe, says US military

BAGHDAD - Despite a drop in violence across Iraq, there is still no place in the country that is safe from attack by extremists, the US military warned on Sunday.

"We have made no projections of peace at hand. We realise that security is very fragile and that at any moment any attack could occur at any place in Iraq," military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith told a news conference in Baghdad.

"There is no place in Iraq today that is safe from terrorism," Smith added.

"We still have car bombs, we still have suicide attacks. Taking the fight to Al-Qaeda in Iraq is still very serious. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is still very much determined to use car bombs and other means of destruction against innocents."

Smith disputed claims by Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden in an audio tape released on Saturday that his terror network does not target innocent civilians.

"Their actions demonstrate otherwise. Continued bombings, car bombings, suicide... and other attacks of violence have all targeted innocent civilians."

Al-Qaeda's real intention, he said, was to turn Iraq into a regional power base but this ambition was being thwarted by Iraqi tribal leaders and local citizens who were forming "Awakening" councils across the country aimed at driving out the extremist group.

"These actions by the tribes and the voluntary citizens have become a central concern to Al-Qaeda," Smith said, making reference to bin Laden's comments castigating as "traitors" Iraqis who have joined the Awakening councils. (AFP)