Suicide blast in Iraqi Shi'ite village kills more than 100

By The Associated Press

TUZ KHORMATO, Iraq - A suicide truck bomber blasted a market in a Shi'ite town north of Baghdad yesterday, killing more than 100 people, police said, in a sign Sunni insurgents are pulling away from a U.S. offensive around the capital to unleash attacks where security is thinner.

Iraqi police try to interview the driver of the truck that exploded in the Armili market, north of Baghdad. The blast demolished dozens of homes and stores.

The devastation underlined that there are not enough forces in Iraq to protect everywhere. U.S. troops, already increased by 28,000 this year, are focused on bringing calm to Baghdad, while the Iraqi military and police remain overstretched and undertrained.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, told The Associated Press he expected Sunni extremists to try to pull off a variety of sensational attacks to create a "mini-Tet."

He was referring to the 1968 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese offensive that undermined public support for the Vietnam War in the United States.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/879231.html

-Jim