U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team and the Iraqi Army's 1st Brigade receive a pre-flight briefing from a UH-60 Blackhawk crew chief at Forward Operating Base Remagen airstrip before the start of Operation Swarmer, an assault operation with the combined U.S. and Iraqi forces targeting insurgents near the town of Samarra, about 100 km (60miles) north of Baghdad March 16, 2006. The U.S. military said on Thursday it had launched its biggest air offensive in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. A military statement said the operation involving more than 50 aircraft and 1,500 Iraqi and U.S. troops as well as 200 tactical vehicles targeted suspected insurgents operating near the town of Samarra. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY REUTERS/Sgt. First Class Antony Joseph, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade/Handout
In this handout photo released by the U.S. Military soldiers and aircraft are positioned on the airstrip at Forward Operating Base Remagen in advance of Operation Swarmer, a combined Iraqi and Coalition operation to clear a suspected insurgent operating area northeast of Samarra, Iraq, Thursday, March, 16, 2006. U.S. forces Thursday launched what was termed the largest air assault since the U.S. led invasion, targeting insurgent strongholds north of the capital, the U.S. military said. The American troops were joined by the Iraqi army. (AP Photo/ Sgt. First Class Antony Joseph, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs)
U.S. helicopters fly from their military base during Operation Swarmer during their assault operation with the combined U.S. and Iraqi forces targeting insurgents near the town of Samarra, about 100 km (60miles) north of Baghdad, March 16, 2006. REUTERS/Sgt. First Class Antony Joseph, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade/Handout
Residents look at the damaged house, whose roof collapsed, reportedly after a raid by U.S. soldiers, in Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, March 16, 2006. According to residents U.S. soldiers raided a house Wednesday night,in an insurgent-plagued area west of Baghdad, there were no causalities reported, and there was no information from the U.S. military side. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)