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US military rushes delivery of bomb dogs to Iraq

05 February 2010 03:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The American military is rushing delivery of dozens of bomb-detection dogs to Iraq after accusations that widely used mechanical devices are ineffective to pinpoint explosives at checkpoints and other search sites, U.S. and Iraqi officials said, APA reports citing â€œAssociated Pressâ€.

The first shipment of dogs â€” 25 expected Friday â€” comes amid pressure on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for security lapses after suspected Sunni militants scored a series of successes in carrying out major bombings in Baghdad, killing hundreds since August. The attacks have hurt his government’s standing before next month’s elections to pick Iraq’s next parliament and leaders.

Another 120 bomb-sniffing dogs are scheduled to arrive in Iraq over the next 12 months in Iraq, Army Maj. Sylvester Wegwu, a senior military adviser at the Baghdad Police College, told The Associated Press.

"We have more requests than we have dogs and handlers," added police Brig. Gen. Mohammad Mesheb Hajea, who is in charge of the training program.

The worries over security are strong enough to overcome reluctance among Iraqi forces to use canines because of Islamic religious taboos that consider dogs unclean animals. While U.S. troops and foreign private security firms often used sniffing dogs, Iraqis relied on them far less â€” both because troops didn’t like using them and Iraqi citizens didn’t like being searched by them.

"Our culture is different from the European culture and the American culture," said Hajea, who also runs his own veterinary clinic in Baghdad.

It’s part of a wider re-evaluation of tactics and equipment by Iraq’s security forces.
Some shifts have been prompted by new strategies by insurgents, including car-bomb makers hiding explosives deep inside frames or engines.

Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has said Iraqi authorities have requested scanners capable of peering inside sealed portions of vehicles.

Iraqi policeman Saadun Mazier, who works with a Belgian Malinois named Gina, does not believe the police dogs will change some Muslim feelings about canines. But he does believe many will come to understand their usefulness.