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US, Iraqi forces hit Samarra
American and Iraqi forces battled their way into the center of this insurgent-ridden city on Friday, claiming that they had taken control of more than half the town and that they had killed more than 100 guerrillas, in what is shaping up to be one of the largest military operations since the war began. More than 5,000 troops, including 3,000 Americans, attacked the city from three sides early on Friday, seizing the main government buildings and a pharmaceutical factory on the city's northwest end. Iraqi forces also took control of the Golden Mosque, a Shiite holy site visited annually by thousands of pilgrims, thereby staving off a repeat of the siege of Najaf, where insurgents commandeered the Imam Ali Shrine to draw out the fighting there. The assault here represented the first major effort by American and Iraqi forces to reclaim a series of regions that have fallen into the hands of insurgents before the nationwide elections that are scheduled to take place in January. American officials have said they plan to retake the regions in time to allow the Iraqis to vote, and that their toughest challenges still lie ahead in places like Falluja and Ramadi. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-10-02 |
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