BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP):
UNITED STATES forces yesterday launched what was termed the largest air assault since the U.S.-led invasion, targeting insurgent strongholds north of the capital, the U.S. military said. The American troops were joined by the Iraqi army.
Residents in the area said there was a heavy U.S. and Iraqi troop presence in the area and that large explosions could be heard in the distance. It was not clear if the U.S. aircraft had carried out any raids, nor were there reports of insurgent resistance. The operation, residents said, appeared to be concentrated near four villages - Jillam, Mamlaha, Banat Hassan and Bukaddou about 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Samarra. The villages are near the highway leading from Samarra to the city of Adwar.
Waqas al-Juwanya, a spokesman for Iraq's joint coordination centre in nearby Dowr, said "Unknown gunmen exist in this area, killing and kidnapping policemen, soldiers and civilians." The military said the operation was expected to continue over several days against insurgent targets in Salahuddin province, where Samarra is a key city.
"More than 1,500 Iraqi and Coalition troops, over 200 tactical vehicles, and more than 50 aircraft participated in the operation," the military statement said of the attack designed to "clear a suspected insurgent operating area north-east of Samarra," 95 kilometres (60 miles) north of Baghdad.
Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi interim foreign minister, said the attack had been necessary to prevent insurgents from forming a new stronghold such as they had established in Fallujah, west of Baghdad."
