Devildogg4ever
08-26-03, 03:50 AM
Tue August 26, 2003 03:46 AM ET
By Andrew Marshall
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops hunting guerrillas and criminals raided homes overnight in Iraq's restive "Sunni triangle," the Army said on Tuesday, as tension simmered among ethnic groups in the north and Shi'ite factions in the south.
The U.S. 4th Infantry Division said hundreds of soldiers had raided homes around Khalis, north of Baghdad, on Monday night, looking for a gang accused of crimes in the area. Officers said several people had been detained.
U.S. forces have mounted scores of raids in Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland around Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, looking for the fugitive ex-dictator, his lieutenants and guerrillas who have killed 64 U.S. soldiers since May 1.
Last week, U.S. officers announced the capture of two of Saddam's top aides -- "Chemical Ali" Hassan al-Majid and former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan. But Saddam himself remains on the run, despite a $25 million price on his head.
Senior U.S. officers based in one of Saddam's former palaces in Tikrit say they believe the deposed president is in disguise and moving every few hours to evade capture.
The persistent guerrilla ambushes, and last week's devastating truck bomb attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad that killed at least 23, have led to calls for a wider U.N. role and more troops on the ground.
But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Monday that troop levels were adequate, though he would not hesitate to recommend boosting forces if it became necessary.
The United States, which has some 136,000 soldiers in Iraq alongside 20,000 from Britain and other countries, blames attacks on its forces and other targets on Saddam loyalists and what it calls foreign terrorists.
FACTIONAL FIGHTING
Guerrilla attacks have been concentrated in Baghdad and areas to its north and west, known as the Sunni triangle.
But tensions are rising also in Shi'ite southern Iraq, where many were persecuted by Saddam, a Sunni, and welcomed his fall.
In the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf, a bomb attack on Sunday killed three bodyguards and wounded a top cleric, the uncle of the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). SCIRI, one of Iraq's main Shi'ite groups, has been criticized by some for cooperating with Washington.
Thousands of Shi'ites marched through the city on Monday, many vowing vengeance. Some blamed supporters of Moqtada al- Sadr, a Shi'ite leader who has condemned the occupation of Iraq. But Sadr's group denied involvement.
Power struggles in Najaf are key to the future of Iraq, whose Shi'ite majority is eager for a taste of power. Many leaders returned from exile after Saddam was ousted on April 9.
In northern Iraq, anger between Kurds and Turkmen erupted into violence last week, with at least 12 killed in ethnic clashes in and around the oil hub of Kirkuk.
The Turkmen, a Turkish-speaking group who are a vestige of Ottoman rule in Iraq, accuse Kurds returning to the area of seizing control and oppressing others. Both the Kurds and Turkmen say they were oppressed under Saddam, who tried to Arabise the strategic oil-rich area.
Iraq's oil industry, crucial for rebuilding the country, has been badly hit by electricity shortages and sabotage. An attack on a key pipeline to Turkey shut it down shortly after it reopened this month for the first time since the war.
"Obviously the situation is evolving and every time we get something fixed in the oil sector and get it back in working order, someone tends to come along and blow it up," Michael Mele of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told an Iraq reconstruction conference in Washington
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3335497
By Andrew Marshall
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops hunting guerrillas and criminals raided homes overnight in Iraq's restive "Sunni triangle," the Army said on Tuesday, as tension simmered among ethnic groups in the north and Shi'ite factions in the south.
The U.S. 4th Infantry Division said hundreds of soldiers had raided homes around Khalis, north of Baghdad, on Monday night, looking for a gang accused of crimes in the area. Officers said several people had been detained.
U.S. forces have mounted scores of raids in Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland around Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, looking for the fugitive ex-dictator, his lieutenants and guerrillas who have killed 64 U.S. soldiers since May 1.
Last week, U.S. officers announced the capture of two of Saddam's top aides -- "Chemical Ali" Hassan al-Majid and former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan. But Saddam himself remains on the run, despite a $25 million price on his head.
Senior U.S. officers based in one of Saddam's former palaces in Tikrit say they believe the deposed president is in disguise and moving every few hours to evade capture.
The persistent guerrilla ambushes, and last week's devastating truck bomb attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad that killed at least 23, have led to calls for a wider U.N. role and more troops on the ground.
But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Monday that troop levels were adequate, though he would not hesitate to recommend boosting forces if it became necessary.
The United States, which has some 136,000 soldiers in Iraq alongside 20,000 from Britain and other countries, blames attacks on its forces and other targets on Saddam loyalists and what it calls foreign terrorists.
FACTIONAL FIGHTING
Guerrilla attacks have been concentrated in Baghdad and areas to its north and west, known as the Sunni triangle.
But tensions are rising also in Shi'ite southern Iraq, where many were persecuted by Saddam, a Sunni, and welcomed his fall.
In the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf, a bomb attack on Sunday killed three bodyguards and wounded a top cleric, the uncle of the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). SCIRI, one of Iraq's main Shi'ite groups, has been criticized by some for cooperating with Washington.
Thousands of Shi'ites marched through the city on Monday, many vowing vengeance. Some blamed supporters of Moqtada al- Sadr, a Shi'ite leader who has condemned the occupation of Iraq. But Sadr's group denied involvement.
Power struggles in Najaf are key to the future of Iraq, whose Shi'ite majority is eager for a taste of power. Many leaders returned from exile after Saddam was ousted on April 9.
In northern Iraq, anger between Kurds and Turkmen erupted into violence last week, with at least 12 killed in ethnic clashes in and around the oil hub of Kirkuk.
The Turkmen, a Turkish-speaking group who are a vestige of Ottoman rule in Iraq, accuse Kurds returning to the area of seizing control and oppressing others. Both the Kurds and Turkmen say they were oppressed under Saddam, who tried to Arabise the strategic oil-rich area.
Iraq's oil industry, crucial for rebuilding the country, has been badly hit by electricity shortages and sabotage. An attack on a key pipeline to Turkey shut it down shortly after it reopened this month for the first time since the war.
"Obviously the situation is evolving and every time we get something fixed in the oil sector and get it back in working order, someone tends to come along and blow it up," Michael Mele of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told an Iraq reconstruction conference in Washington
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3335497