U.S. general: Fight against Iraqi insurgents showing progress

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The No. 2-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq said Thursday U.S. and Iraqi forces are making progress in the fight against insurgents.

Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the Multinational Corps-Iraq, said sending additional troops to Iraq this year, which the Bush administration called a "surge," has enabled U.S. and Iraqi forces to eliminate more insurgent safe havens.

With more insurgents hobbled, "some signs of normalcy" are "returning to the Iraqi people," Odierno said from Iraq in a teleconference with Pentagon reporters.

Iraqi forces are improving, which also means coalition troops can gradually turn over security responsibilities to the Iraqi army and police, with coalition troops nearby to help in emergencies, the U.S. general said.

He used the northern Iraqi city of Mosul as an example and said troops also have begun an oversight role in places such as Basra, Karbala, Najaf and Diwaniya. He expects such transitions in Anbar province and some Baghdad neighborhoods during the next several months.

Odierno said there has been a "clear rejection of al Qaeda in Iraq by large sections of the population," including Sunni Arabs. Watch how a former insurgent becomes an Iraqi police officer »

Although he believes al Qaeda in Iraq has lost key sanctuaries, logistical capabilities and the leadership acumen it once had, the network still maintains the ability to launch "vicious attacks," Odierno said.

Odierno said the Iraqi political process needs improvement, but the Iraqi government has been making efforts to be more effective.

Other developments

An explosion Wednesday killed two U.S. soldiers in Nineveh province, the U.S. military said. Two other soldiers were wounded. Another soldier was killed by an explosion near his vehicle in Salaheddin province This brings the number of U.S. military deaths in the Iraqi war to 3,840 and the number in October to 40. Seven U.S. military contractors have also been killed.

Five Iraqi security forces recruits were killed Thursday morning in a roadside bomb explosion in northern Baghdad's Adhamiya district, an Interior Ministry official said

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