Iraq on high alert for terror attacks

IRAQ ON HIGH ALERT FOR TERROR ATTACKS

Iraq’s prime minister has put his nation on its highest level of alert for terror attacks, warning of plots to sow fear and chaos as the U.S. combat mission in the country ends on Tuesday.

The Iraqi security forces who will be left in charge have been hammered by bomb attacks, prompting fears of a new insurgent offensive and criticism of the government’s preparedness to protect its people.

Still, President Obama left no doubt Saturday in his weekly address that the United States is sticking to its promise to pull out of Iraq despite the uptick in violence. “The bottom line is this: The war is ending,” Obama said. “Like any sovereign, independent nation, Iraq is free to chart its own course.”

In a statement to state-run television, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraqi intelligence indicated an Al-Qaida front group and members of Saddam Hussein’s outlawed Baath party are collaborating to launch attacks “to create fear and chaos and kill more innocents.”

“We direct the Iraqi forces, police and army and other security forces, to take the highest alert and precautionary measures to foil this criminal planning,” he said.

A senior Iraqi intelligence official said security forces believe suicide bombers have entered the country with plans to strike unspecified targets in Baghdad by month’s end. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. BASES ATTACKED IN AFGHANISTAN

Insurgents disguised as American soldiers attacked two U.S. bases in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday and managed to breach the perimeter of one of them before being repelled, according to NATO and Afghan officials.

The assault began about 4 a.m., when dozens of Taliban fighters, some wearing U.S. military uniforms, launched simultaneous attacks on Forward Operating Base Salerno, in Khost Province, and nearby Forward Operating Base Chapman, where a suicide bomber killed seven CIA employees in December.