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| Iraq |
| U.S.: 60 Insurgents Killed In Offensive |
| 2008-01-15 |
| BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 -- American and Iraqi troops have killed 60 Sunni insurgents and captured nearly 200 during a week-long offensive in northern Iraq against al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters, U.S. military officials said Monday. The announcement came on the same day that at least three Iraqi police officers were killed when a booby-trapped house exploded in the northern province of Diyala, underscoring the danger involved in trying to clear insurgents from their safe havens. The campaign in northern Iraq, known as Operation Iron Harvest, began last week with a major push to kill or capture members of al-Qaeda in Iraq, a homegrown Sunni insurgent group that U.S. officials believe is led by Arabs who have come to Iraq since the war began. But military officials in Diyala, the initial focus of the operation, were surprised that most of the insurgents were able to evade U.S. forces by either fleeing or hiding among the civilian population. Iraqi and American security forces are chasing the fighters to prevent them from establishing new bases of operation in other areas. "Now they are in a corner," said Lt. Gen. Abdul Kareem al-Rubaie, the commander of Iraqi military forces in Diyala. "The armed groups have withdrawn and are fleeing." The attack on the Iraqi police officers took place in the village of al-Abarra Abu Fayad, south of the provincial capital of Baqubah, where Sunni insurgents have fled, according to Rubaie. He said a house rigged with explosives blew up when Iraqi police went inside. Six police officers were wounded in addition to the three killed in the blast. Insurgents in Diyala, one of Iraq's most dangerous provinces, have frequently used booby-trapped homes to target U.S. troops. Six American soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were killed in such a house last week during the offensive there. The U.S. military said in a statement that 193 "suspected extremists" have been detained and 79 weapons caches found since the four-province campaign began. The weapons stores included about 100 roadside bombs, more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition and more than 4,000 pounds of homemade explosives, the military said. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, Iraqi and U.S. officials raised hopes for political reconciliation among the various sects and parties. Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, said the country's largest Sunni political bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, was prepared to return to the government if its demands, including the release of Sunni detainees from prison and better government benefits, were met. The group withdrew its ministers from the Shiite-led government last year to protest the lack of Sunni clout within the cabinet. After meeting with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of one of the largest Shiite groups in Iraq, Hashimi said that he hoped political leaders could "push forward the wheels of the political process." Also on Monday, the senior U.S. officials in Iraq issued their first statement about the passage Sunday of a law allowing Baath Party officials to return to government, the first of the political benchmarks set by the United States. "Passage of this law represents a signal achievement in that Iraqi political leaders have collectively chosen to reform a de-Baathification process that many regarded as flawed, unfair, and a roadblock to reconciliation," Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker said in a statement. "Ultimately the impact of this important legislative step will depend as much on the spirit of implementation as on the form of the legislation." The new law is an attempt by the Iraqi government to address the first decree issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led occupation administration installed after the 2003 invasion. That order banned many senior members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from serving in government and helped fuel the Sunni-led insurgency. Also in Baghdad, gunmen killed Amer Jawdat al-Naieb, an appellate judge and member of Iraq's judicial council, along with his driver, while he headed to work, police said. Special correspondents Zaid Sabah, K.I. Ibrahim, Saad al-Izzi and other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #3 Finally. The return of the body count. |
| Posted by: Snealet Bonaparte6725 2008-01-15 12:18 |
| #2 Good numbers but I wish they were reversed. |
| Posted by: Captain Lewis 2008-01-15 11:02 |
| #1 American and Iraqi troops have killed 60 Sunni insurgents and captured nearly 200 during a week-long offensive in northern Iraq against al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters. I Like the # 60 and the # 200! :) |
| Posted by: RD 2008-01-15 10:47 |