U.S.: Al-Qaida making inroads in Ramadi

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/breaking_news/14717690.htm

U.S.: Al-Qaida making inroads in Ramadi

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Al-Qaida is taking advantage of sectarian differences to make inroads in Ramadi, a volatile city in the Sunni heartland, and the U.S. military is "very concerned" about the situation, a spokesman said Thursday.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell confirmed that about 1,500 combat troops have been moved from a reserve force in Kuwait into Anbar province, which surrounds Ramadi, to help authorities establish order in the insurgent hotbed stretching from Baghdad west to Syria.

He described the new deployment as short-term to ensure continuity during summer rotations and said the focus was on quelling the al-Qaida presence in the area and keeping foreign fighters from crossing over from Syria.

"The situation in Ramadi, just like in Baghdad, is serious at this time and it's something we're paying a lot of attention to," he said.