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60pc of Baqouba cleared of militants
 A major US offensive has cleared about 60 percent of western Baqouba of militants, but Iraqi security forces are not quite up to the job of holding ground in the long term, the commander of the US operation said on Sunday, as a car bombing in the southern city of Hillah killed at least two people and wounded 18 others.Around 10,000 were in their sixth day of combat here part of a quartet of US operations to oust Al Qaeda from the capitalls outskirts. The 25th Infantry Divisions Brigadier General Mick Bednarek, head of Operation Arrowhead Ripper, said US forces now control about 60 percent of the citys west side, have killed between 60 and 100 suspected Al Qaeda fighters and have detained about 60 insurgents. One American soldier died in the fighting, he added. The challenge now is how do you hold onto the terrain youve cleared? You have to do that shoulder-to-shoulder with Iraqi security forces, Bednarek said. And theyre not quite up to the job yet. Across Diyala province, where Baqouba is the capital, Iraqi troops are short on uniforms, weapons, ammunition, trucks and radios, he said. He predicted it would be several weeks before Iraqi police and soldiers could keep Al Qaeda out of western Baqouba and months before they were able to do the same on the citys east side and outlying villages. He estimated that between 50 and 100 insurgents were left inside a US security cordon tightening in on the Khatoon neighborhood of the city. Were closing the noose, Bednarek said. Its the hard-core fighters left guys who will die for their cause, as misaligned as that is. And they want to kill as many US forces as they can. Posted by: Fred 2007-06-25 |
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