U.S. Launches Airstrikes in Western Iraq

AP on Yahoo ^ | 6/17/05 | Patrick Quinn - AP

[NormsRevenge]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - American troops bombarded a dusty border town with airstrikes and tank fire Friday, capturing 100 militants in the third major recent attempt to uproot tenacious insurgents who are believed to use the region to sneak foreign suicide bombers in from Syria.

Four suicide attacks around Iraq, including one in the capital, killed 11 people as rebels seeking to lead Iraq into a civil war intensified the pace and scope of attacks against Iraq's still-weak security forces. More than 60 people have died in suicide attacks over the past two days.

In a campaign codenamed Romhe, Arabic for spear, about 1,000 Marines and Iraqi forces, backed by battle tanks, fought their way into Karabilah in the volatile Anbar province.

During daylong battles, Marines and Iraqi soldiers fought "insurgents holed up in buildings within the city," Marine Capt. Jeffrey Pool said from Ramadi, the provincial capital.

"Coalition aircraft using precision-guided munitions destroyed these targets. Only buildings occupied by insurgents firing on Marines and Iraqi soldiers were bombed. Three buildings were confirmed destroyed," Pool said.

No American or Iraqi military casualties were reported.

In other violence, a suicide car bomber killed five Iraqis, including two civilians, and wounded 10 others in Fallujah, Pool said. The target was Fallujah's mayor and police brigade commander for the Interior Ministry's new public order unit, Maj. Gen. Mahdi Sabih, police said. He escaped unharmed.

Marines carried out two major operations in the area last month, killing 125 insurgents in the first campaign, Operation Matador, and 14 in the second, Operation New Market. Eleven Marines were killed in those two actions, designed to scatter and eradicate insurgents using the road from Damascus to Baghdad.

The new campaign began just before dawn in the desert wastes around Karabilah and nearby Qaim, a lawless town about 200 miles west of Baghdad that squats at the crossroads of an insurgent smuggling route leading into Iraq from neighboring Syria.

During Friday's assault, troops captured about 100 foreign fighters and discovered at least one car bomb factory, said Col. Bob Chase, chief of operations for the Second Marine Division. He said U.S. and Iraqi troops encountered some resistance, but didn't characterize it as significant.

Iraqi troops did not participate in the earlier anti-insurgent offensives but Chase said this time they not only fought alongside Americans, but used their language skills and knowledge of the area to spot foreign fighters.

Also near Ramadi, two Marines were killed in action Thursday when their vehicle hit a bomb during combat operations, the military said. The deaths raised to 13 the number of Marines killed in separate attacks around Anbar during the past week. Two sailors also have died.

At least 1,716 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

In other violence, U.S. forces killed a 10-year-old boy Thursday while he was walking on a Baghdad street, police said. The U.S. military confirmed Friday that a child was killed during an "escalation of force" incident.

The Karabilah operation came one day after U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Alston called the Syrian border the "worst problem" in terms of stemming the influx of foreign fighters to Iraq.

U.S. military intelligence officials believe the area is the main entry point used by extremist groups such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq to smuggle foreign fighters into the country. Syria is under intense pressure from Washington and Baghdad to tighten control of its porous 380-mile border with Iraq.

The area has been flush with insurgents in recent weeks. Marines carried out June 11 airstrikes that killed about 40 militants after a nearly five-hour gunfight on the outskirts of Karabilah. Insurgent in the area also killed 21 people — beheading three of them — thought to be a group of missing Iraqi soldiers. The bodies were found June 10.

At least 1,095 people have been killed since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's Shiite-led government was announced in late April.

According to an AP count, from April 26 through June 16, at least 136 vehicle bombings have killed at least 492 people and wounded at least 1,409. In addition, at least 10 suicide bombers, wearing explosives, have killed at least 188 people and wounded at least 493.

It is unclear how many insurgents have also died in that period, but they are thought to number more than 290.

Also Friday:

_A car bomb killed four people and wounded another 15 outside a mosque in nearby Habaniyah, Pool said.

_A suicide car bomber missed an Iraqi army patrol and slammed into a loaded fuel tanker in Baghdad, killing two people and wounding another six, police said.

_Another suicide attacker died after a failed attempt to kill the Iraqi army commander in Tuz Khormato, 130 miles north of Baghdad. Seven people were wounded, police said.

_The bodies of two Iraqis working for American forces were found near the town of Beiji, north of Baghdad. They had disappeared Monday.

[NormsRevenge]

Mohammed Khalif Shaiker is seen after his capture in this image handed out by the the U.S. Military June 17, 2005. Shaiker, also known as Abu Talha, has been described by the U.S. military as a senior associate of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and as al-Qaeda's leader in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Photo by Reuters (Handout)

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An US soldierpays his last respects to his comrade Jorge M.Estrada during a Memorial Ceremony. US marines, sailors and Iraqi soldiers backed by warplanes have ben battling insurgents in Iraq's Euphrates River valley in a new operation to rout them from positions near the Syrian border(AFP/Yuri Cortez)

[ProudVet77]

Is it just my imagination, but our operations kinda cleaning up around the edges now?
In the past we'd leave this kind of place alone while focusing on the big cities. Lately we're going after the border towns, and the Iraqi army is taking care of the bigger cities.

[68skylark]

...capturing 100 militants in the third major recent attempt to uproot tenacious insurgents.

Why are the bad guys called "tenacious"? Why does the press give those losers the cool adjectives? Why aren't our guys called "tenacious"?

[datura]

Safe House

[NormsRevenge]

The pace has picked up.

Getting the Iraqi forces online and in the thick of it has allowed some additional focus to be brought to this area especially.

If Mohammad won't come to us, then we will just have to go to Mohammad's place. ;-)

We hadn't dropped any bombs in awhile either.. for quite a few weeks at least if I recall a recent report correctly.

[Marine_Uncle]

Thanks for post. Hopefully Operation Spear caught most of the recent entrenched scum bags. It sure looks these small well orchastrated missions shall continue and perhaps increase in duration and intensity during the next few months. Give em some time to gather, get the now good HUMIT, move in very quick and take em out. That is what the Marines have been doing for the past few months in Al Anbar province.

[Marine_Uncle]

"Is it just my imagination, but our operations kinda cleaning up around the edges now?
In the past we'd leave this kind of place alone while focusing on the big cities. Lately we're going after the border towns, and the Iraqi army is taking care of the bigger cities."

No it is not your imagination. As the new Iraqi Army working pretty closely with us has pushed a lot of them out of the Baghdad, ST, TOD, areas, the rugheads have been moving on a more permanent basis into Al Anbar towns and camps. Prior to operation Matador, our better HUMIT and other type Intel methods was showing a large part of the foreign terrorist groups where establishing the HQ and hold areas in the varios areas of Al Anbar not only along all the cities that line the Euphrates but in many of the wild west drug smugling towns to the west in the desert regions, etc..
After Fallujah II. They where so disrupted and lost so many that they simply moved more permentlly into these nw areas.
They no longer can operate in places like Fallujah, the people point em out now. So they have to operate out of these mosly lawless areas that even Saddam had a hard time controlling. So our Marines have their work cut out for them for a long time. It is going to take many many operations to clear most of them out, in this case kill them. That is my take on the scenario, for what its worth.

[McGavin999]

You're right, that's exactly what is happening.

[McGavin999]

I was just reading one of the Iraqi blogs and he said that many of the tribes are getting sick and tired of the "insurgents" and are starting to join in the fight.

One of the biggest tribes is protecting the bad guys, but they're not bigger that all the other tribes who are starting to join together. This is going to get nasty.

[WOSG]

", 68skylark wrote:
...capturing 100 militants in the third major recent attempt to uproot tenacious insurgents."

"Why are the bad guys called "tenacious"? Why does the press give those losers the cool adjectives? Why aren't our guys called "tenacious"?"

Typical MSM defeatist BS is all...

Casualties are always 'mounting' instead of 'dribbling',
the enemy is 'tenacious' but our troops are 'stressed' or 'beleaguered' ... these are throwaway adjectives that only expose their bias and dont really carry information except for the viewpoint of the speaker ..

Here's a Freeper rewrite:

"Tenacious, brave, professional Marines kicked butt in al-Anbar today, capturing over 100 fanatical, mindlessly violent terrorists in the doomed and pathetic insurgency.
As usual, the U.S. military gave a lot worse than they got, killing scores of the enemy while taking a mere two casualties, both due to a single roadside bomb. Cowardly insurgents are doing most of their killing via roadside bombs, but are no match for the insurmountable firepower and resolve of American soldiers and Marines in open battle."

[Marine_Uncle]

"Why are the bad guys called "tenacious"? Why does the press give those losers the cool adjectives? Why aren't our guys called "tenacious"?"

Truely I doubt I have to tell you, but just in case. Because the L/MSM are not only composed mostly of no nuts assholes, and mostly well trained far left liberals idiots who are instructed to learn how to "change the world", instead of being trained to learn good reporting techniques and become well educated on many areas of lifes endevours. Many of them do not even know you don't reference a Marine as a solder. Our Army has soldiers. Our Marines have Marines. They are mostly ignorant on all issues they supposedly cover. And obviouse in the past few months some major news groups even admit they are certainly biased. So how can you expect any of them to phrase a sentence perhaps as follows:

Today our brave Marines while conducting a coordinated ground/air assualt on known foreign terrorist safe houses, routed, captured and killed 90 percent of the terrorist. It had been observed that the remaining 10 percent somehow where able to sneak away as the light levels diminished.

The above would not be within the make up of a reporter. What little grey matter they supposedly have has been trained to only report in a writing style that will make enemies of the United States the good and power good guys, and use adjectives whenever possible to make the American military personel look like idiots, or confused, or cowards, that will kill innocents. After all the most honorable US senator from Illinois has made it clear, they are no different then the Russian or the Nazis.

[KingNo155]

Well said.

[AGreatPer]

"Cordon off the Suni Triangle, bome the hell out of them and get out".............Michael Savage, 11/17/05.

Not my words, but an idea.

[AGreatPer]

Correction........Michael Savage........June 17, 05. Sorry.

[FastCoyote]

"Shaiker, also known as Abu Talha, has been described by the U.S. military as a senior associate of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and as al-Qaeda's leader in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. "

No soup for You!!!!

I think Abu may have some panties on his head right now.

[68skylark]

...but are no match for the insurmountable firepower and resolve of American soldiers and Marines in open battle."

You should start a TV network -- I like your version of the news!

[Marine_Uncle]

"I was just reading one of the Iraqi blogs and he said that many of the tribes are getting sick and tired of the "insurgents" and are starting to join in the fight."

This has been the case for the past few months in the N/NE portions of Al Anbar province. "The forty rail" blog site and others had made these observations a few weeks back. And even a few L/MSM had reported to this effect. The HUMIT or Marines have been getting has been quite good. And now with the Iraqi Army actually starting to participate with our Marines in this region, it can only get better and better.

"One of the biggest tribes is protecting the bad guys, but they're not bigger that all the other tribes who are starting to join together. This is going to get nasty."

I has already been nasty. Days before operation Matador had started, a tribe in the town where our Marines put a pantoon brige across the Euphrates to cross into Obidaha, or whatever it was called, I'm tired been a long day, it was found that the local tribesmen where fighting the foreign terrorist who came into their town and tried to take it over and where mistreating their peoples. Yes more Iraqi's even these well known hard nosed misfits up in northern and northwestern Iraq are getting tired of this whole thing. Plus they are hearing more and more about all the good shit the folks down south and to their east have been getting fro the USA. New water services, improved power grids, hospitals, jobs building roads........blah, blah. And they have to be wondering, since Saddam is gone and will be put on trial and the Americans are not leaving until the job is done, and all they get is grieve from this local and foreign terroists, criminals, and supposed freedom fighters, is it all worth lossing ones life over.
The winds of change are happening before our very eyes.
The L/MSM and democrats teeth are being ground into powder, as they see what is happening. And we most remember, we can expect perhaps another 40-50,000 trained Iraqi Army by the end of the year. And now they take the fight to their common enemy and it taint the US solddier and Marine anymore.

[thelastvirgil]

HOOYAH!!! Go U.S. Air Force and Navy, go. My sincerest hope is that this involvement of airpower signals a sea change in our commanders' approach to wiping the earth clean of terrorist scum. No sense capturing them, now that Senator Dick has their best interests at the forefront of his agenda. Kill 'em all.

[One Dight]

You should quit EDA and go into journalism. Your version was much more resonable.