[1] In early 2009, U.S. forces began pulling out of cities across the country, turning over the task of maintaining security to the Iraqi Army, police, and their paramilitary allies.
Experts and many Iraqis worried that in the absence of U.S. soldiers, AQI might resurface and attempt mass-casualty attacks to destabilize the country.
[2] There was indeed a spike in the number of suicide attacks,[3] and through mid and late 2009, al-Qaeda in Iraq rebounded in strength and appeared to be launching a concerted effort to cripple the Iraqi government.
[4] The first attack was on July 15, when six people (including five policemen) were killed and another 19 wounded in Ramadi when a suicide bomber driving a minibus struck a checkpoint of Iraqi soldiers and police.
[6] Four days later on July 25, four people were killed and another 12 wounded when a car bomb was detonated outside the offices of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Fallujah.