BAGHDAD, April 3 (Reuters) - Iraq has eased a nightly vehicle curfew in Baghdad by a few hours, police said on Tuesday, in a sign the government believes a U.S.-backed security crackdown is having an impact in the capital.

Police and Iraqiya state television said that beginning from Wednesday the curfew would run from 10.00 p.m. until 5.00 a.m., instead of 8.00 p.m. until 6 a.m.

No reason was given for the change.

The government had set the curfew hours before launching the new offensive in Baghdad in mid-February.

The campaign has reduced sectarian death squad killings in Baghdad, although U.S. military commanders warn it could be months before lasting results are seen.

Car bomb attacks still plague Baghdad. And with U.S. and Iraqi security forces deploying additional troops to Baghdad, insurgents have shifted the focus of their attacks to towns and cities outside the capital.

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