PENTAGON CITES IRAQI INSURGENCY

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The U.S. Defense Department has raised the prospectthat the Sunni insurgency in Iraq could intensify. A Pentagon report warned that Al Qaida influence could grow in Iraqshould the central government in Baghdad fail to reconcile rival sectariangroups. The report, written before the U.S. assassination of Al Qaidanetwork chief Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi on July 7, said efforts to oppose AlQaida's influence have failed and that the movement dominates theSunni minority.