thedrifter
07-16-07, 10:15 AM
Troops launch offensive south of Baghdad
By Robert H. Reid - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 16, 2007 8:23:49 EDT
BAGHDAD — U.S. troops launched a new offensive south of Baghdad against insurgents Monday, aiming to cut off another staging ground for attacks on the capital, the military said. Bombings and mortar fire in the morning killed at least nine people in the city.
For the past month, U.S. and Iraqi forces have been waging offensives in the region southeast of Baghdad and in the city of Baqubah, 35 miles to the northeast.
At the same time, the U.S. military has been carrying out a stepped-up security sweep in Baghdad, hoping to bring calm to the capital and boost the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The military said in a statement that the new sweep code-named Marne Avalanche was “aimed at preventing the movement of weapons, munitions and insurgents into Baghdad.”
It did not give an exact location of the offensive, but in recent days U.S. commanders have said they plan new operations to cut off an insurgent supply route southwest of the city, running from western Anbar province.
A string of attacks hit Baghdad on Monday morning. In the deadliest, a roadside bomb exploded as an Iraqi army patrol passed in the Boub al-Sham area on the city’s northeast outskirts, killing five soldiers and wounding nine others, an army officer said.
For the second day in a row, a car bomb hit the central district of Karradah. The blast went off near Masbah Square, killing one person, wounding three others and leaving nearby shops burned, a police official said. On Sunday, a car bomb went off about a half-mile away, killing 10 people.
Ellie
By Robert H. Reid - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 16, 2007 8:23:49 EDT
BAGHDAD — U.S. troops launched a new offensive south of Baghdad against insurgents Monday, aiming to cut off another staging ground for attacks on the capital, the military said. Bombings and mortar fire in the morning killed at least nine people in the city.
For the past month, U.S. and Iraqi forces have been waging offensives in the region southeast of Baghdad and in the city of Baqubah, 35 miles to the northeast.
At the same time, the U.S. military has been carrying out a stepped-up security sweep in Baghdad, hoping to bring calm to the capital and boost the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The military said in a statement that the new sweep code-named Marne Avalanche was “aimed at preventing the movement of weapons, munitions and insurgents into Baghdad.”
It did not give an exact location of the offensive, but in recent days U.S. commanders have said they plan new operations to cut off an insurgent supply route southwest of the city, running from western Anbar province.
A string of attacks hit Baghdad on Monday morning. In the deadliest, a roadside bomb exploded as an Iraqi army patrol passed in the Boub al-Sham area on the city’s northeast outskirts, killing five soldiers and wounding nine others, an army officer said.
For the second day in a row, a car bomb hit the central district of Karradah. The blast went off near Masbah Square, killing one person, wounding three others and leaving nearby shops burned, a police official said. On Sunday, a car bomb went off about a half-mile away, killing 10 people.
Ellie