Diwaniya joines list of unstable Iraqi suburbs

Yet another Iraqi suburb has watched its security situation fall apart since Bush's Baghdad troop escalation began.  In the Al Qadisiyah Province, located about 100 miles south of Baghdad, the town of Diwaniya has been a recent hot-spot for battles between U.S. forces and insurgents.

Another U.S. soldier was killed in Diwaniya, which added to the six other troops that died in Iraq over the weekend:

Six U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were killed when a roadsidebomb detonated in a western section of the capital and a seventhAmerican soldier was slain by a blast in the southern city of Diwaniya,the military announced Sunday.

Three Iraqi soldiers were killed in that town as well during clashes with militants.  A similar incident happened last Wednesday -- but that time eight civilians were caught in the line of fire.  Fortunately, they were only wounded as fighting raged for seven straight hours.

The recent up-tick in violence in Diwaniya is so significant because it is the administrative capital for the Qadisiyah Province.  Not only are militants fighting Americans and Iraqi forces, but militants are fighting militants.  Global Terrorism Analysis -- a site that monitors extremism throughout the world -- said last month that the situation in Diwaniya is extremely serious because it "underlines the escalation of competition for power among militia organizations."

When you have rival gangs fighting one another block-by-block, as in Diwaniya, the result is a flood of refugees leaving their homeland.