Guest guest Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Thursday, 16 March 2006, 21:30 GMT US launches major Iraq offensive The US military says some 1,500 US and Iraqi troops are involved The US military says it has launched its biggest airborne operation in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, targeting insurgents near the city of Samarra. More than 50 aircraft and 1,500 Iraqi and US troops have been deployed in the assault, a military statement says. A bomb attack on the al-Askari shrine in Samarra, 100km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, last month sparked widespread sectarian violence. There are no independent reports of Thursday's offensive so far. The US military said the assault, dubbed Operation Swarmer, was intended to " clear a suspected insurgent operating area " north-east of Samarra. Helicopters were used to carry mostly Iraqi troops into Salahuddin province, where the Pentagon said at least 41 suspected insurgents had been arrested by the end of the day. No missiles were fired or bombs dropped by the fixed-wing aircraft providing cover, the US military confirmed. It was unclear whether the suspected insurgents had offered resistance. Weapons caches Iraqi interim Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the BBC that intelligence from Iraqi security services suggested insurgents had gathered in the area to plan terror attacks. " Whenever the insurgents or the terrorists try to establish themselves, to have a safe haven in any part of the country, you see this kind of reaction by the Iraqi forces, supported by the multi-national forces, to clear these areas, " he said. The offensive is expected to last several days " as a thorough search of the objective area is conducted " . The joint US and Iraqi force said it had captured a number of weapons caches, containing shells, explosives and military uniforms. US military spokesman Sgt Stan Lavery, in Baghdad, told the BBC: " We are trying to achieve denying the insurgency and the terrorists their weapons, and capturing and killing as many of them as we can. " http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4814094.stm Dasha: Ve/Sa/Su/Ma/Ve satva Jorge Angelino Rua da Sociedade Filarmónica Perpétua Azeitonense, 29 2925-598 Azeitão Portugal jorge.angelino tel: mobile: 210813674 963916784 Add me to your address book... Want a signature like this? -- Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.2.4/283 - Release 16.03.2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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