General says al-Qaida on the run in Iraq

WASHINGTON, (AP) - A top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Tuesday that troops have al-Qaida on the run but will never completely be finished chasing them "because they may always come back." 

Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, commander of coalition forces in northern Iraq, said some 40 military operations in his area since the last week of December have killed more than 130 militants and netted more than 370 prisoners, including 40 so-called "high-value individuals."
Expanding security in the four-province area has "caused significant damage" to al-Qaida, Hertling told a Pentagon news conference. And commanders have intelligence indicating the insurgents are "looking for a place to hide."

"A year ago, we were often reacting to al-Qaida and what they were going to do next," Hertling said by videoconference from Iraq. "Now I think the tables have turned a little bit and they are attempting to react to where we're going to go next — and that's a critical difference."

"They are trying to get away or find new safe havens and every time they think they have them, we attack there," he said.

He said 15 of his soldiers were killed during the recent operations.

Asked if militants were being squeezed so much by the operations that they are experiencing their last stand, Hertling said he would never describe it that way.

A major criticism of coalition operations in past years was that they would push insurgents out of an area, only to have them return after U.S. forces left.

"Whenever you feel comfortable that you've eliminated them in one area, they tend to re-emerge," Hertling said. "We'll never say that we've completed pursuing them because they may always come back."

A big difference this year is that Iraqi security forces have grown in size and abilities to help hold areas after they have been cleared of fighters, he said.

Hertling has four Iraqi Army divisions working along with his troops

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