U.S. Uses Surveillance to Protect Mosques

U.S. Uses Surveillance to Protect Mosques
By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - American troops have avoided confrontations with Iraqi mobs and religious militias, but a top Air Force commander said the military has bolstered its surveillance and intelligence efforts to protect mosques from attack.

U.S. troops have largely stayed out of the fray in days of deadly sectarian violence fueled by the bombing of the Shiite Askariya Shrine in Samarra, leaving Iraqi troops to confront mobs and try to stanch their attacks.

American military leaders say this strategy was aimed at avoiding an anti-American element to the sectarian violence.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force has sent more spy planes to check on Iraqi mosques, which have always been intelligence targets but have taken on increasing importance since the shrine bombing, said U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Allen G. Peck, deputy commander of U.S. air operations in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters.

"We're putting more emphasis on these places," Peck said on Thursday.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060303/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_mosque_watch