145;Iraqi bombers used kids as decoys146;

The adults then parked next to a market in the Adamiya area of Baghdad, abandoned the vehicle and detonated it with the children still inside, according to the general and another defence official.

8220;Children in the back seat, lower suspicion, we let it move through,8221; Barbero said. 8220;They parked the vehicle, the adults run out and detonate it with the children in the back.

The attack killed five, including the children, and wounded seven, the defence official said.

The general called it a new tactic, but noted US forces had only seen one such occurrence involving children.

The use of chemical bombings has increased and become a tool of the insurgency, as the three chlorine bombs detonated this past weekend brought the total to six such bombings since January, the general said.

8220;High-profile8221; suicide and car bomb attacks by Sunnis against Shi8217;ites also have not abated, Barbero said. But he said increased force in Iraq8217;s capital had yielded some success, such as a reduction in murders and executions of civilians.

He also said hundreds of families had returned to Baghdad and the number of tips from Iraqi civilians about insurgent activity hit its highest mark ever in February.