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US launches new Iraq
operation
29/06/2003 - 17:11:01
US forces today launched a massive
operation in Iraq to crush insurgents and capture
senior figures from Saddam Hussein’s fallen
regime.
The operation, codenamed
Sidewinder, involved more than 20 raids involving
air and ground forces, and resulted in the arrest
of more than 60 suspects in a show of force
designed to stem a wave of deadly attacks on
coalition troops.
The operation is taking
place in a huge swathe of central Iraq stretching
from the Iranian border to the areas north of
Baghdad, and is expected to last for several days,
the military said.
The region has become
“the nexus of paramilitary activity in central
Iraq,” the military said in a
statement.
“Sidewinder” kicked off near
Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
“We
go in with such overwhelming combat power that
they won’t even think about shooting us,” Lt. Col.
Mark Young said before the start of the
operation.
“The raids target former Ba’ath
Party loyalists, terrorists suspected of
perpetrating attacks against US forces and former
Iraqi military leaders,” the military statement
said, referring to Saddam Hussein’s once-ruling
party.
The American forces arrested a man
in Khalis, 45 miles north of Baghdad, suspected of
recruiting young men to launch attacks on US
troops.
In Dojima, a town where Sunni
Muslim residents recently polished the
still-standing portrait of Saddam Hussein, police
raided the homes of alleged Saddam loyalists they
suspected of hiding caches of arms, including
rocket-propelled grenades – the weapon of choice
in many recent ambushes.
There were no
reports of US casualties, the military said, nor
was there any indication that the operation had
netted any of Iraq’s most wanted
fugitives.
US officials in Washington have
said repeatedly that no centralised Iraqi
resistance to American rule remains. But on the
ground, US military personnel face “an organised
effort,” said Young.
“Somewhere in Diala
province, something happens every night,” said
Captain John Wrann, referring to the area
northeast of Baghdad where much of the operation
was taking place. “It’s got to be a coordinated
thing.”
The military also announced the
arrest on Saturday of 15 suspects in Mosul, in
northern Iraq, confiscating Ba’ath party documents
and Republican Guard uniforms, as well as
weapons.
Insurgents have stepped up their
attacks against US troops in recent days, carrying
out ambushes against military convoys, shooting
soldiers, and lobbing grenades.
Early
today, two American troops were injured and an
Iraqi civilian was killed in an attack on a US
military convoy on a road leading to Baghdad
International Airport, the military
said.
The attack, which involved an
improvised explosive device, occurred as the
convoy made its way on a highway in southwest
Baghdad that heads out to the airport, said Cpl.
Todd Pruden, a military spokesman. He said it was
not clear if the explosive device was thrown at
the convoy, or placed in the road. Two vehicles
were damaged
The injured were evacuated to
a military hospital and no arrests were made. The
identity of the Iraqi civilian was not released,
nor was it clear if the victim was a passer-by or
had been travelling with the soldiers at the time
of the attack.
In other violence today,
insurgents ambushed a US patrol west of Baghdad
using rocket propelled grenades.
One of the
grenades struck a Bradley fighting vehicle
patrolling near Khaldiyah, 35 miles west of
Baghdad, but didn’t cause any significant damage
or injuries.
US troops returned fire with
25 mm cannon, but apparently failed to inflict any
casualties on the attackers, who ran
away.
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© Thomas Crosbie Media, 2003.
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