Desperately Sick

War On Terror: Al-Qaida in Iraq is desperate. Not only is it resorting to using women for suicide bombings, it's even tricking mentally disabled women to stage them.

Plumbing new depths of depravity, the terror group strapped bombs to two women reportedly suffering from Down syndrome. Then it sent them into a crowded Baghdad market to kill Shiite shoppers and cause mayhem.

The coordinated blasts claimed some 100 lives and injured more than twice that number. Police found cell phones the craven terrorists used to detonate the bombs by remote, indicating that the women most likely didn't know they were on suicide missions.

The U.S. military has warned that al-Qaida in Iraq is recruiting women and children to stage suicide attacks as the insurgents become desperate to thwart stepped-up security measures. They may also be finding it harder to recruit male suicide bombers.

The enemy's shift in strategy is one more sign that the surge is working. But it's time to adjust our security tactics to deal with this new threat being used with greater frequency and effectiveness.

The twin Baghdad bombings marked the deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital since the U.S. troop surge began last year. Over the past three months, seven female suicide bombers have killed almost 130 and wounded more than 300, including several U.S. soldiers.

Jan. 29: A suicide bomber blew herself and others up at a Baghdad checkpoint.

Jan. 16: A female suicide bomber struck Shiite worshippers in Diyala province.

Dec. 31: A suicide bomber blew herself up near a police patrol northeast of Baghdad.

Dec. 7: A female suicide bomber attacked pro-American offices in Diyala province.

Nov. 4: A woman detonated explosives next to an American patrol near Baqouba, wounding seven U.S. soldiers and five Iraqis.

The new threat is hard to guard against because women in Iraq often wear a traditional black Islamic robe known as an abaya that can be used to hide explosives.

With the head-to-toe gown, it can be easier for them to avoid thorough searches at checkpoints because of Islamic sensitivities about their treatment. Men are not permitted to touch them, and the U.S. military has agreed to honor the local religious customs.

U.S. authorities had hoped to recruit and train local women for the Iraqi police force so they could pat down Iraqi women. By the end of 2004, about 1,000 had graduated.

But since handing over responsibility for police recruitment and training to Iraqi authorities in 2006, the number of female recruits has dropped to virtually zero. And last year, the Iraqi government ordered all policewomen to turn in their guns for redistribution to men or face having their pay withheld.

The move is the latest sign of the religious extremism that's taken hold in Iraq. As a result, fewer women are being searched at checkpoints and markets, and suicide bombings are on the rise again. The military must respond by deploying more female MPs or by ignoring Muslim customs to let male MPs search Iraqi women.