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Zarqawi Intel Leads to 452 Raids Across Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq American and Iraqi forces have carried out 452 raids since last week's killing of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and 104 insurgents were killed during those actions, the U.S. military said Thursday.Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said the raids were carried out nationwide and led to the discovery of 28 significant arms caches. He said 255 of the raids were joint operations, while 143 were carried out by Iraqi forces alone. The raids also resulted in the captures of 759 "anti-Iraqi elements." Iraq's national security adviser called the information seized after the raid on Zarqawi's hideout a "huge treasure" of documents and computer records that had given the Iraqi government the upper hand in its fight against Al Qaeda in Iraq. National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie also said he believed the security situation in the country would improve enough to allow a large number of U.S. and Coalition forces to leave Iraq by the end of this year, and a majority to depart by the end of next year. "And maybe the last soldier will leave Iraq by mid-2008," he said. Al-Rubaie said a laptop, flashdrive and other documents were found in the debris at the house outside Baqouba, and more information has been uncovered in raids of other insurgent hideouts since then. "We believe that this is the beginning of the end of Al Qaeda in Iraq," al-Rubaie said, adding that the documents showed Al Qaeda is in "pretty bad shape," politically and in terms of training, weapons and media. Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-06-15 |
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