While Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, “cautioned that ‘recent security gains are fragile and still reversible,’” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I- CT) declared that “the surge worked.”

As predicted, McCain and Lieberman celebrated too soon. According to the U.S. military, “the number of roadside bombs deployed by Iraqi militants spiked during the first two weeks of January, reaching their highest level since the fall.” On Saturday, the AP reported that “street battles between members of a messianic cult and Iraqi troops raged for a second day as the death toll from the fighting in two predominantly Shiite southern cities rose from 50 to at least 68.”

A series of recent high-profile attacks is eroding the security gains of the previous six months, when violence dropped across much of the country. The main insurgent group, al-Qaida in Iraq, has carried out many of the attacks against fellow Sunnis who have turned against it. But insurgents also struck with deadly suicide blasts this week against Shiites observing Ashoura.

UPDATE: The AP is reporting that “a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a funeral tent in a predominantly Sunni village, killing at least 14 and wounding 17, in the third such bombing in Sunni areas in as many days.” The attack “raised concerns about the infiltration of Sunni groups that have joined forces with the Americans against al-Qaida in Iraq.”

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