Afraid to stray from home, residents buried the dead in their gardens Saturday as U.S. and Iraqi forces battled pockets of resistance in this former insurgent stronghold, where the American military said 125 rebels were killed and 88 captured in two days of fierce fighting. The American commander declared the operation a successful first step in a major push to wrest key areas from insurgent control before January elections. U.S. and Iraqi commanders said they controlled 70 percent of Samarra after some 5,000 troops — including 2,000 Iraqis and 3,000 Americans —swept into the city early Friday. Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan claimed success, telling the Arab television station Al-Arabiya: "It is over in Samarra." Maj. Gen. John Batiste, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, said he was "very confident that the future of Samarra is good."
"This is great news for the people of Samarra, 200,000 people who have been held captive, hostage if you will, by just a couple of hundred thugs," he told CNN. Batiste praised the performance of Iraqi troops, saying they "really handled themselves well" as they secured the hospital, a revered shrine and centuries-old minaret. "They're getting better and better trained, better and better equipped. It ought to give us a lot of confidence," he said. |