TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) — A senior U.S. commander said Wednesday that recent attacks in Iraq are the work of groups seeking to sabotage — or gain leverage in — a future independent Iraqi government that is due to take power by July.

Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of Fort Hood’s 4th Infantry Division, also predicted that coalition forces would be able to crush the insurgency within a year, despite continued American losses since the Dec. 13 capture of Saddam Hussein.

“There are ethnic issues. People are now positioning themselves to see what their role is in the next government, and they are doing it by force,” Odierno said after a tour of this city, Saddam’s hometown. “They are trying to disrupt the way things are going so they can get a little advantage.”

Odierno, who is in charge of security over a large swath of north-central Iraq, did not elaborate on how insurgent attacks were aimed at gaining advantage before the power transfer. He also did not offer specific examples of such attacks.

However, a recent series of major attacks were clearly aimed at Iraqi targets, raising fears that insurgents were going after those who would play major political and security roles in a future Iraqi government.