WASHINGTON, Aug 8: US forces are encountering more improvised explosive devices in Iraq as opponents of the occupation turn their sights on “soft”, more lightly defended targets, a commander said on Friday.

“We have disrupted several of them in the past days, everything from rigged 155mm rounds to 107mm rounds that are rigged for detonation and things like that,” said Colonel Michael Linnington, commander of the 101st Airborne Division’s Third Brigade, said.

“So in terms of sophistication, yes, we do believe he is getting more sophisticated,” Linnington told a video teleconference from Iraq.

Attacks on US troops in the 101st Airborne’s area of operations, which is centered on Mosul in northern Iraq, spiked between July 19 to 25 when six US soldiers were killed in a spate of attacks, including two from the 3rd Brigade, he said.

But in his brigade’s area, a well-off and relatively quiet farming region that includes stretches of the Syrian and Turkish borders and a major dam, there have been no subsequent attacks, he said.

“I believe all the threats we have against us are targeted against what we would call soft targets,” he said.

“In the numerous attacks we have had in the 101st over the last several weeks, all those attacks have come from either distances away from our fixed sites, or have come against small convoys that are operating in and around the division area,” he said.

“The reason for those attacks I believe are the ability of the enemy to attack in large numbers is reduced and he’s picking primarily soft targets, because he knows that’s his last resort,” he said. —AFP