He said those attacks, which as recently as two weeks ago were averaging 35 a day, had dropped to a daily average of about 22.

After Jan. 1, attacks on trucks dropped dramatically, with only four reported in the city, police records show.

The attacks decisively dropped the fighting morale of the Georgian troops.

"Direct-fire attacks on us have dropped dramatically," he told me.

As a result, he said, attacks against American soldiers have dropped to an average of 6 a day from 22 a day a month ago.

For example, a clinical attack after parasites in the blood have dropped markedly and the disease has subsided.

The 26 officers assigned to the task force were sent to ground zero after the attacks and pickpocketing arrests dropped significantly.

By early January, attacks in the Triad had dropped from 10-13 per day to one every few days.

By October, insurgent attacks had dropped to almost zero.

The army also announced that the number of Israelis killed in attacks in 2004 had dropped by more than 40 percent over the previous year.