thedrifter
06-19-06, 04:59 AM
Iraqi city is focus of military move
By Solomon Moore
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Monday, Jun. 19 2006
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers set up new positions over the weekend on the
outskirts of Ramadi, a city in Al Anbar province that has become a haven for
the Sunni Arab-led insurgency.
The aim is to bottle up the insurgents who have largely controlled the city.
"We are focusing on multiple sites used by the insurgents to plan and conduct
terrorist attacks and store weapons," said Lt. Col. Bryan F. Salas, a Marine
spokesman based in Fallujah. "We have also set up additional checkpoints to
restrict the flow of insurgents, but citizens will still be able to enter and
leave."
Salas said Sunday that U.S. Marines from one brigade and Iraqis from two
brigades were taking part in the operation. A Marine brigade generally
comprises about 2,500 people.
For weeks, military officials have played down the significance of preparations
in the area, which included the arrival of 1,500 more U.S.soldiers.
Last week, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV said operations in Ramadi were
increasing to clear away insurgents who were obstructing the development of
local security forces. But he said he did not foresee a "Fallujah-type"
operation.
In 2004, the United States led two assaults on insurgents in Fallujah that were
among the biggest battles since the beginning of the conflict in 2003.
Missing soldiers sought
The U.S. armed forces also continued to search early today for two U.S.
servicemen who apparently were abducted by guerrillas after an attack on a
checkpoint south of Baghdad.
The two are Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker,
25. of Madras, Ore. They serve with the 101st Airborne Division's 1st
Battalion, 502nd Infantry.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshair Zebari told CNN's "Late Edition" on Sunday that
two U.S. soldiers who disappeared after an attack Friday on a U.S.-run
checkpoint near Youssifiyah, south of Baghdad, had been abducted.
U.S. military officials have declined to confirm whether the soldiers had been
kidnapped and were listing the pair as "duty status unknown."
The Associated Press quoted an unidentified Iraqi as saying the U.S. was
offering $100,000 for information on the abductors. The U.S. command denied
that.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government announced Sunday it would release 300 prisoners
from Abu Ghraib prison today. The release is another in a series that began
earlier this month and will eventually free 2,500 people.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called the move a token of
reconciliation aimed at appeasing Sunni Arabs, who dominate the insurgency and
are disproportionately imprisoned. Iraq has nearly 28,000 prison inmates,
according to government officials.
Iraq's parliament met Sunday and decided to set up 25 oversight committees for
various government ministries. The committees are intended to check corruption
and limit the influence of political factionalism.
"The heads of the committees should be different from the ministries they are
monitoring," said Abbas Bayati, a parliament member for the leading Shiite
Muslim bloc.
No letup in violence
While the parliament focused on administrative oversight, violence persisted.
In Baghdad, a car carrying four people exploded, killing three of the
occupants. Police said they knew neither the reason behind the explosion nor
the identities of the dead.
In Mosul, an ethnically mixed city in northwest Iraq, a car bomb detonated near
a U.S. convoy, which rolled through the blast apparently unscathed. But the
explosion killed a high school girl and wounded 19 other civilians, Iraqi
police said.
In Baqubah, 25 miles north of Baghdad, insurgents shot to death three Iranian
men near the Diyala province travel office. A police source said that when they
had searched the bodies, they had found Iranian national documents and forged
Iraqi credentials. Police also said the men had been carrying U.S. and Iranian
currency and a small video camera.
Ellie
By Solomon Moore
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Monday, Jun. 19 2006
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers set up new positions over the weekend on the
outskirts of Ramadi, a city in Al Anbar province that has become a haven for
the Sunni Arab-led insurgency.
The aim is to bottle up the insurgents who have largely controlled the city.
"We are focusing on multiple sites used by the insurgents to plan and conduct
terrorist attacks and store weapons," said Lt. Col. Bryan F. Salas, a Marine
spokesman based in Fallujah. "We have also set up additional checkpoints to
restrict the flow of insurgents, but citizens will still be able to enter and
leave."
Salas said Sunday that U.S. Marines from one brigade and Iraqis from two
brigades were taking part in the operation. A Marine brigade generally
comprises about 2,500 people.
For weeks, military officials have played down the significance of preparations
in the area, which included the arrival of 1,500 more U.S.soldiers.
Last week, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV said operations in Ramadi were
increasing to clear away insurgents who were obstructing the development of
local security forces. But he said he did not foresee a "Fallujah-type"
operation.
In 2004, the United States led two assaults on insurgents in Fallujah that were
among the biggest battles since the beginning of the conflict in 2003.
Missing soldiers sought
The U.S. armed forces also continued to search early today for two U.S.
servicemen who apparently were abducted by guerrillas after an attack on a
checkpoint south of Baghdad.
The two are Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker,
25. of Madras, Ore. They serve with the 101st Airborne Division's 1st
Battalion, 502nd Infantry.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshair Zebari told CNN's "Late Edition" on Sunday that
two U.S. soldiers who disappeared after an attack Friday on a U.S.-run
checkpoint near Youssifiyah, south of Baghdad, had been abducted.
U.S. military officials have declined to confirm whether the soldiers had been
kidnapped and were listing the pair as "duty status unknown."
The Associated Press quoted an unidentified Iraqi as saying the U.S. was
offering $100,000 for information on the abductors. The U.S. command denied
that.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government announced Sunday it would release 300 prisoners
from Abu Ghraib prison today. The release is another in a series that began
earlier this month and will eventually free 2,500 people.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called the move a token of
reconciliation aimed at appeasing Sunni Arabs, who dominate the insurgency and
are disproportionately imprisoned. Iraq has nearly 28,000 prison inmates,
according to government officials.
Iraq's parliament met Sunday and decided to set up 25 oversight committees for
various government ministries. The committees are intended to check corruption
and limit the influence of political factionalism.
"The heads of the committees should be different from the ministries they are
monitoring," said Abbas Bayati, a parliament member for the leading Shiite
Muslim bloc.
No letup in violence
While the parliament focused on administrative oversight, violence persisted.
In Baghdad, a car carrying four people exploded, killing three of the
occupants. Police said they knew neither the reason behind the explosion nor
the identities of the dead.
In Mosul, an ethnically mixed city in northwest Iraq, a car bomb detonated near
a U.S. convoy, which rolled through the blast apparently unscathed. But the
explosion killed a high school girl and wounded 19 other civilians, Iraqi
police said.
In Baqubah, 25 miles north of Baghdad, insurgents shot to death three Iranian
men near the Diyala province travel office. A police source said that when they
had searched the bodies, they had found Iranian national documents and forged
Iraqi credentials. Police also said the men had been carrying U.S. and Iranian
currency and a small video camera.
Ellie