Angst in Baghdad: US-Iraqi Troop Set Off New Offensive
Pakistan Times Monitoring Report

BAGHDAD (Iraq): Almost over 3,000 US and Iraqi forces launched an offensive on another Iraqi rebel enclave Tuesday, this time southwest of Baghdad, arresting 30 suspected insurgents in an initial sweep, multinational forces said.

"Iraqi and multinational forces today kicked off their most sweeping operation to date in northern Babil, moving against multiple targets across the central Iraqi province in a continuing campaign to restore security and stability here," they said.

Centred in Hilla

Centred on the main town of Hilla, Babil province includes a series of towns immediately south of the capital that have been bastions of the insurgency plaguing US-led troops virtually since last year's invasion.

There was no reference made to any casualties.

In-depth

More than 3,000 US and Iraqi troops have launched a major offensive on a rebel stronghold south of the capital, Baghdad, the US Central Command says.

Its press release said more than 30 suspected insurgents were seized in the sweep in the Babil province.

It said the forces seized a suspected rebel training camp and secured a key bridge across the Euphrates River often used by insurgents.

The Babil Operation

The operation in the Babil region, which centres on the town of Hilla, follows a US-led blitz at the weekend on another rebel stronghold, Samarra, to the north of Baghdad.

Dozens of people, including a number of civilians, were killed in the two-day operation.

Experts say the US-led Multinational Forces and Iraq's interim government may be tempted to build on the successful Samarra operation to secure other areas where rebels have been active, in time for scheduled elections in January.

Fostering Security

"Iraqi and multinational forces today kicked off their most sweeping operation to date in northern Babil, moving against multiple targets across the central Iraqi province in a continuing campaign to restore security and stability here," the press release said.

It said the offensive's main mission was "to assist Iraqi authorities in fostering security and stability for the nearly 900,000 citizens of the province".

Favoured Corridor of Insurgents

The US Central Command said the Jurf Kas Sukr Bridge was believed to be a favoured corridor for insurgents moving into and out of key cities, including Baghdad and the rebel stronghold of Falluja.

The operation was led by the US 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the press release said.

It said that more than 160 suspected rebels have been captured in co-ordinated US-Iraqi operations in the Babil province since July.

Clash in Ramadi

Two car bombs exploded in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi on Tuesday, killing four Iraqis and prompting clashes between U.S. troops and gunmen. In the northern city of Mosul, another vehicle bomb went off, wounding four Americans.

Also in Mosul, three decapitated bodies, two Iraqis and an unidentified corpse have been found in and around the city, a coroner said, the latest in a grisly campaign of beheadings by militants who have been snatching foreigners and Iraqis accused of helping the United States.

Sadr City Hit

U.S. warplanes pounded the vast Baghdad slum of Sadr City overnight after an American patrol came under gunfire, the military said Tuesday. Hospital officials said at least one Iraqi was killed in the violence in the district, a stronghold for Shiite militiamen.

Near Baghdad, one soldier from the U.S. Army’s 13th Corps Support Command was killed Monday night and two were injured when their convoy hit a homemade bomb, the military said. As of Monday, 1,058 members of the U.S. military have died since the start of the war in March 2003, according to the Pentagon.

Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, is one of the Sunni Triangle cities where U.S. and Iraqi commanders are considering launching a new push to clear out insurgents ahead of key January elections.

Of the Elections

Intensifying violence including near-daily car bombs and persistent abductions and the insurgents’ dominance in several cities have raised concerns over the vote. Iraqi and U.S. leaders insist they will be held on schedule, though some officials have said voting may not be possible in the most violence-torn areas, which are largely Sunni Muslim.

A powerful group of Sunni Muslim clerics on Tuesday warned against leaving out parts of the country, saying it would undermine the vote and be tantamount to fragmenting Iraq.

“This could be a bad omen for the unity of the country because this means that (the excluded areas) would be separated from the rest of Iraq,” said Mohammed Bashar al-Faidhi, a spokesman for the Association of Muslim Clerics.

In Ramadi on Tuesday, a booby-trapped car exploded near the city’s Grand Mosque as a U.S. military convoy passed. Four Iraqis inside a car near the explosion were killed and two bystanders were wounded, said Dr. Dia’a al-Haity, a doctor at Ramadi General Hospital.

Eye-Witnesses Account

Witnesses said a wounded U.S. soldier was seen being carried away by his colleagues after the blast, which punched a crater into the ground and mangled a nearby vehicle. The U.S. military said it had no informatin on the incident.

Earlier Tuesday, another car bomb exploded in another part of the city, sparking a gunbattle between U.S. forces and gunmen. Al-Haiti said two Iraqis were killed and four wounded in the fighting.

Ramadi is frequently the scene of clashes. On Monday, U.S. Marines spotted militants planting a roadside bomb and in the ensuing gunbattle two insurgents were killed and a third wounded, said Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert.

He said a woman and a child were wounded in an exchange of fire between the insurgents and the Marines. “It is unclear at this time how their injuries occurred,” Gilbert said. Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, has seen increased rebel attacks in recent weeks, with frequent car bombings. Previously, the city and its surroundings weres among the more peaceful regions in the country.

US Convoy Targeted

A car bomb in the city Tuesdasy targeted a U.S. convoy, wounding four American soldiers, the U.S. military said. U.S. troops opened fire after the explosion, killing three Iraqis in a passing vehicle and wounding a number of others, said police 2nd Lt. Mohammed Ahmed.

Mohamed Qadir Youssef, a worker at the al-Jomhuria Hospital, said three people were killed and three others wounded.

Meanwhile, coroner Riyadh Mohammed of al-Jomhuria Hospital said three beheaded bodies have been found in and around the city in the past two days. Two were Iraqis, while the third was unidentified, he said.●