¡¡WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- The No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq predicted Friday that there will be increased violence in that country when the final results of the parliamentary election become clear next week.

    Lt. Gen. John Vines, chief of the Multinational Corps Iraq, told reporters at Pentagon via video link from Baghdad that the spate of violence is aimed to derail Iraq's political process and target American troops, but they are coming more from religious extremists, mercenaries and "anti-democracy" groups rather than alQaeda.

    As the U.S. troops still can not find al Qaeda's leader in Iraq,Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the general blamed the recent attacks more on anti-government extremists, including groups linked to the former Saddam Hussein regime.

    "The indicators are that many of the events that we see are not related to al Qaeda in Iraq," said Vines. "In some cases, they're related to former regime elements and Saddamists. In some cases, they're related to people who conduct violent acts for pay."

    The increased violence, he said, will be taken into consideration as the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey,moves forward with plans to reduce troop levels there.

    The Pentagon has canceled the deployment to Iraq of two Army brigades, which Casey said will cut the number of U.S. troops in Iraq by about 7,000, to some 130,000, by March.

    Casey has also said he hopes to recommend more reductions as early as this spring, if progress such as formation of an Iraqi government goes well. Enditem