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Latest offensive aimed at capturing Samarra bombers
An Iraqi-U.S. operation targeting insurgents in the vast hardpan desert northeast of Samarra has led to the capture of a possible ringleader of the bombing of the Gold Mosque, Iraqi officials said today.On its second day, Operation Swarmer resulted in 48 arrests and the discovery of at least six weapons caches consisting of mortars, AK-47s and insurgent training manuals, officials said. The most important capture may be a leader of the group responsible for the bombing of the Golden Mosque, which set off a wave of sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites. More than 500 have been killed and hundreds more wounded. The insurgent group was also believed to be involved in the killing of a journalist for Arab television. Iraqi security forces are spearheading the mission that has used 50 Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters to drop soldiers into the sparsely populated area, 80 miles north of the capital Baghdad. U.S. officers say the operation is just as valuable as an indication of the growing competence of Iraqi forces. Military officials said the raid was planned and carried out by Iraqi commandos based on information from their own intelligence sources. "This fight is at the intelligence level," said Col. Skip Johnson, one of the American commanders supporting Operation Swarmer. "The Iraqis know the culture and they know the people." In Washington, Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of the multinational corps in Iraq, also stressed that the operation was "primarily" conducted by Iraqi forces. "It was a large operation, consisting of Iraqis and U.S. forces," he said at a Pentagon briefing. "Had we tried to accomplish a mission like this 11 months ago, it would have been primarily U.S. forces, but in this case I think you've all seen the numbers as we have, primarily Iraqi forces supported by U.S. and coalition forces." Operation Swarmer involves 1,500 troops, about 800 of whom are Iraqi. That is fewer total troops than have taken part in assaults to drive insurgents from Fallouja, Ramadi and other cities. But more than 50 aircraft, mainly helicopters, transported the troops and gave them air cover, making it the largest airborne attack in Iraq since April 2003, military officials said. A statement by the U.S. command said that the raids by the Army's 101st Airborne Division and Iraq's 1st Brigade would continue for several days, and that a number of insurgent weapons caches containing artillery shells, explosives, army uniforms and materials for making car bombs had been discovered. Residents of the area, northeast of Samarra, said they heard large explosions in the distance after troops, helicopters and armored vehicles swooped in. They said the operation was concentrated around four villages that have harbored insurgent followers of Jordanian militant Abu Musab Zarqawi, whose Al Qaeda-affiliated organization has been blamed by U.S. and Iraqi officials for the Feb. 22 bombing of the Golden Mosque. Repeated sweeps by American troops have failed to secure the Samarra area. U.S. and Iraqi officials said the timing of the latest raid was unrelated to the mosque bombing or next week's third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-03-18 |
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