|
UK troops trap hundreds of rebels
Hundreds of pro-Saddam rebels holed up in the Iraqi Triangle Of Death have been cornered by British troops. The Black Watch and Queen's Dragoon Guards based at Camp Dogwood have trapped a "hornet's nest" of militants trying to flee the Fallujah battle-zone. Military Intelligence officers now believe this is the reason for the ferocious attacks on the Dogwood-based Brits who have suffered daily rocket and mortar attacks. A British intelligence officer in Central Iraq revealed last night: "We have been surprised by the ferocity of the attacks but we are now able to fight back. The force based at Dogwood has effectively closed the back door on ex-Ba'athists and rebel insurgents trying to escape the American assault on Fallujah. What has happened has proven the value of the Black Watch and Queen's Dragoon Guards being there - there is nowhere for the rebels to go. We have blocked off their escape route and that is why the attacks have been so desperate. They were trying to punch through us and haven't done so."The controversial decision to deploy British troops into the hazardous Sunni Triangle outskirts was aimed at blocking off key insurgent supply routes into Fallujah. But yesterday the first signs the Brits were making headway with their hearts and minds approach started showing as locals welcomed them for the first time. Despite the death toll the troops have suffered both The Black Watch and The Queen's Dragoon Guards have been trying to acknowledge locals as they pass through their villages. In a crucial breakthrough an armoured unit from the Black Watch's Alpha Company was slowly moving through a tiny cluster of farms close to the Euphrates when they waved at families as they passed through. Children and their parents waved back at the armoured unit and smiled. Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-11-23 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=49526 |