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US offensive on Tal Afar, Samarra
U.S.-led forces launched operations in three Iraqi rebel strongholds on Thursday, killing nearly two dozen insurgents in a town near the Syrian border and bombing targets in Falluja for the third straight day. Fierce fighting around the town of Tal Afar, a suspected haven for foreign fighters about 60 miles east of the Syrian border in northern Iraq, left 22 insurgents dead and more than 70 wounded, a local government health official said. "The situation is critical," Rabee Yassin, general manager for health in Nineveh province, told Reuters. "Ambulances and medical supplies cannot get to Tal Afar because of the ongoing military operations." There were no immediate reports of any U.S. or Iraqi government casualties in the fighting which local government sources said had killed 57 since Saturday. U.S. forces said the assault was in response to provocation after they and Iraqi security forces "were repeatedly attacked by a large terrorist element that has displaced local Iraqi security forces throughout recent weeks." "These attacks by terrorist groups included rocket-propelled grenades, small arms fire, mortars and roadside bombs, and resulted in civilian casualties," the military said. U.S. forces entered Samarra on Thursday for the first time in weeks to try to reestablish Iraqi government control there. A military statement said the troops went in to install a temporary mayor and police chief, set up a local council and assess police stations. There were no reports of clashes. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-09-09 |
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