thedrifter
03-17-06, 07:08 AM
The War in Iraq
Troops pounce on rebels
Operation Swarmer called biggest air assault in three years
Richard Boudreaux / Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. and Iraqi forces began a major helicopter and ground attack Thursday on an insurgent stronghold near Samarra, the Sunni Arab-dominated city where the bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine last month set off waves of sectarian bloodshed across the country.
The joint military operation is one element of an American strategy to start bringing home U.S. troops, who arrived here nearly three years ago to topple President Saddam Hussein. Iraq's military has been taking a bigger role in attacks on a Sunni Arab-led insurgency made up in part of Saddam's supporters.
In announcing the counter-insurgency assault, called Operation Swarmer, U.S. officials emphasized the involvement of Iraq's army, which provided 800 of the 1,500 troops involved.
That is fewer total troops than have taken part in assaults to drive insurgents from Fallujah, Ramadi and other cities. But more than 50 aircraft, mainly helicopters, helped transport the troops, making it the largest airborne attack in Iraq since April 2003, military officials said.
A statement by the U.S. command said that the raids by the 101st Airborne Division and Iraq's 1st Brigade would continue for several days, and that a number of insurgent weapons caches -- containing artillery shells, explosives, army uniforms and materials for making car bombs -- had been discovered.
Lt. Col. Edward S. Loomis, a U.S. military spokesman, said 40 people were detained for questioning on the first day of the assault. There were no reports of resistance or casualties.
Residents of the area, northeast of Samarra, said they heard large explosions in the distance after troops, helicopters and armored vehicles swooped in shortly after 7 a.m.
They said the operation was concentrated around four villages that have harbored insurgent followers of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose al-Qaida in Iraq organization has been blamed by U.S. and Iraqi officials for the Feb. 22 mosque bombing.
Repeated sweeps by American soldiers have failed to secure the Samarra area in the past.
Ellie
Troops pounce on rebels
Operation Swarmer called biggest air assault in three years
Richard Boudreaux / Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. and Iraqi forces began a major helicopter and ground attack Thursday on an insurgent stronghold near Samarra, the Sunni Arab-dominated city where the bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine last month set off waves of sectarian bloodshed across the country.
The joint military operation is one element of an American strategy to start bringing home U.S. troops, who arrived here nearly three years ago to topple President Saddam Hussein. Iraq's military has been taking a bigger role in attacks on a Sunni Arab-led insurgency made up in part of Saddam's supporters.
In announcing the counter-insurgency assault, called Operation Swarmer, U.S. officials emphasized the involvement of Iraq's army, which provided 800 of the 1,500 troops involved.
That is fewer total troops than have taken part in assaults to drive insurgents from Fallujah, Ramadi and other cities. But more than 50 aircraft, mainly helicopters, helped transport the troops, making it the largest airborne attack in Iraq since April 2003, military officials said.
A statement by the U.S. command said that the raids by the 101st Airborne Division and Iraq's 1st Brigade would continue for several days, and that a number of insurgent weapons caches -- containing artillery shells, explosives, army uniforms and materials for making car bombs -- had been discovered.
Lt. Col. Edward S. Loomis, a U.S. military spokesman, said 40 people were detained for questioning on the first day of the assault. There were no reports of resistance or casualties.
Residents of the area, northeast of Samarra, said they heard large explosions in the distance after troops, helicopters and armored vehicles swooped in shortly after 7 a.m.
They said the operation was concentrated around four villages that have harbored insurgent followers of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose al-Qaida in Iraq organization has been blamed by U.S. and Iraqi officials for the Feb. 22 mosque bombing.
Repeated sweeps by American soldiers have failed to secure the Samarra area in the past.
Ellie