American forces are pursuing Iran-backed insurgents in Iraq, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said in Baghdad on Monday as US deaths spike nearly a year after US troops formally ended combat operations.

"We have to unilaterally be able to go after those threats. We're doing that," Panetta said.

"We are very concerned about Iran and weapons they're providing to extremists here in Iraq. We lost a heck of a lot of Americans as a result. We can't allow this to continue," he told troops at US Camp Victory near Baghdad airport.

General Lloyd Austin, commander of US military forces in Iraq, told reporters unilateral action "could include a lot of things."

"If there's no way to do that with the Iraqi security forces, then I'll patrol around my perimeter and do what needs to be done to ensure that my troops are protected," he said.

Panetta, who took over on July 1 from Robert Gates, said he would take all steps needed for the safety of the 46,000 US troops still in Iraq, down from a high of 170,000 since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Three US soldiers have been killed in Iraq so far this month, the last on Sunday when Panetta arrived in Baghdad from a visit to Afghanistan. June was the deadliest month for US forces in Iraq since 2008, with 14 soldiers killed.

The resumption of attacks against US troops comes as Iraqi leaders approach decision time on whether they want to maintain a contingent of soldiers after 2011 when all US troops are scheduled to pull out.

Panetta said Iraqi security forces must be pushed to take action against the Shiite groups. US forces had carried out both joint operations with the Iraqis as well as unilateral missions against militants.

"The effort here obviously has to be to push the Iraqis to take on responsibility of going after some of these Shiite groups, going after those who use those kind of weapons," Panetta said.

He called for "pressure on Iran not to engage in this kind of behaviour."

Tehran has denied US accusations of smuggling weapons to insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The United States is not in a good position in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are doing everything they can to maintain their military presence in these two countries," Iran's state television website quoted foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying.

In meetings with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki later on Monday, Panetta encouraged them to be "more aggressive" against all extremist groups, his spokesman said.

"He made clear that we're neither pressuring nor pleading for US troops to stay here and that time is running out for a decision," Doug Wilson told reporters.

He said Panetta also had stressed for Maliki to speedily appoint ministers of interior and defence -- which he has failed to do since forming a unity government in December, and amid infighting among political groups.

"The secretary feels that he made progress on a clear understanding of the situation from them," Wilson said.

Meanwhile, Austin said insurgents were using more lethal weapons, and using them more effectively.

"Their targeting process is maturing," he said.

"They're working harder and harder to try to perfect their ability to target," Austin added, saying they were getting better training, presumably from Iran.

Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, spokesman for US forces in Iraq, last month identified the Iran-backed groups as Ketaeb Hezbollah, Asaib Ahel al-Haq and the Promised Day Brigade.

The latter is directly linked to Moqtada al-Sadr, a radical, anti-American Shiite cleric who divides his time between Iran and the city of Najaf in southern Iraq.

The other two groups are offshoots of Sadr's now-disbanded Mahdi Army, which fought against Iraqi and US-led coalition forces between 2004 and 2007, and which has been identified by the Pentagon as the main threat to stability.

Colin Kahl, a Panetta adviser, told reporters US forces retained the right to carry out combat operations in Iraq. "We have self-defence authorities under the security agreement (with Iraq) to take on our own measures," he said.

US forces formally declared an end to combat missions last August.

Also on Monday, three rockets hit Baghdad's heavily fortified and sprawling Green Zone, which houses the US embassy, other foreign missions and government offices.

A woman and her three children were wounded, Iraqi security officials said.

earlier related report
US team eyes Iraq weapons trail back to Iran
Baghdad (AFP) July 13, 2011 - As they dissect the lethal rockets which Iraqi Shiite insurgents have fired at their troops, US weapons analysts in Baghdad say they have no doubt of Iran's signature.

For the Task Force Troy doing the forensic work at the US military's Camp Victory near Baghdad airport, the evidence should trace the device back to the bomb-maker and locate where he acquired the skills.

Those involved in the project remain anonymous for security reasons but exhibit the weaponry behind the spike in US casualties in Iraq, pointing the finger of blame at Tehran.

A cylindrical device, about 60 centimetres long (almost 18 inches) and 40 centimetres in diameter, sits on a table, draped in white. A narrower cylinder is fitted in the rear.

"What they do is take a 107-mm rocket and take off its warhead," said a non-commissioned officer, his eyes hidden by sunglasses. "They have a specifically-made warhead with a rocket motor on it."

The warhead is sometimes a household water heater, filled with dozens of kilogrammes of military grade explosives, and the rockets are often launched from the back of a truck to deliver a lethal punch.

"It doesn't have a big sign that says 'made in Iran,' but (it is possible to identify the source) from the original marks and from the shapes," another officer in the team said.

"Attacks of this type appeared in 2007 to 2008," said Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, spokesman for US forces in Iraq. "But now, they have become more efficient."

Attacks in Iraq are down from an average of 49 a day in 2008 to 14 now, of which an average of six a day target US forces, he said.

But with 14 troops killed in June, the US military suffered its heaviest monthly losses since 2008. Six of those losses were sustained in a single improvised rocket attack on June 6.

"We're seeing more powerful EFPs (Explosively Formed Projectiles), but most importantly they seem to have matured the ability to aim these things," said General Lloyd Austin, who commands US forces in Iraq.

It "indicates that there are folks with significant experience involved in trying to help develop the techniques and procedures for employing these weapons," according to the general.

Following an attack, the teams go out and collect whatever evidence they can to bring back for analysis, another officer explained.

Fingerprints and DNA traces are taken, the components analysed and the chemical composition of the explosives examined, he said, pointing to some 50 small vials, each filled with different explosives.

"There are certain markings that help us to distinguish from one place to another but I can't really get into specifics," said a female member of the team who wore civilian clothes.

The US military spokesman has no doubts the forensics trail leads to Iran.

"Many of the attacks we've seen lately have been attributed by forensics evidence to Ketaeb Hezbollah and frequently claimed by KH," Buchanan said, referring to one of three Shiite militias blamed by the military.

"It's probably the smallest organisation, (but) it has the most discipline with respect to how they conduct operations," Buchanan said.

"It also has connections to the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps) Qods Force," he added, referring to the alleged covert operations wing of the elite Iranian military force.

"KH is a creation by the IRGC Qods Force. They get intelligence support from the Qods Force."

Iran has never acknowledged the existence of the force and has repeatedly denied US accusations of arming insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite its open opposition to the American deployments.

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