| FALLUJAH - U.S. Army units moved in force early Sunday to seal off Fallujah, intending to raid the homes of suspected militia leaders and search for illegal weapons. Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade targeted locations where intelligence reports indicated militia operations were underway or weapons stockpiled for use against U.S. forces. The operation was called "Spartan Scorpion." The initial thrust against the city met no resistance, but Iraqis sounded sirens and flashed their porch lights in apparent warning to each other that American troops were coming. The 2nd Brigade entered Fallujah and the nearby towns of Habaniyah and Khaldiyah on June 4, tripling the number of U.S. troops in the area after repeated ambushes on supply convoys. The brigade's mission was to defeat anti-American militias and help restore local government offices and infrastructure. The raids across Fallujah by Task Force 3-15, Task Force 1-64 and Task Force Enforcer — using more than 1,300 soldiers — began at about 3 a.m., just three hours after a deadline for Iraqis to turn in heavy weapons under an amnesty program. On Saturday, warnings were broadcast on mosque loud speakers that the United States likely would raid Fallujah after the amnesty ended. The raid against Fallujah followed an extensive action last week, dubbed Operation Peninsula Strike, against the so-called "Sunni triangle" north and west of Baghdad. That operation was completed successfully, the military said Sunday. About 60 of the 400 people detained during that search-and-seizure operation remained in custody for further interrogation. Those in custody included former Iraqi generals of Saddam Hussein's army — Maj. Gen. Abul Ali Jasmin, the secretary of the defense ministry, and Brig. Gen. Abdullah Ali Jasmin, head of the Iraqi military academy. |