Posted on 03/30/2003 4:30:25 PM PST by MadIvan
THE destruction of a "massive terrorist facility" in northern Iraq, thought to have been run by a radical group associated with al-Qaeda, is a huge boost for the allied campaign.
Missile and air strikes have been targeted at a remote mountain base run by the Ansar-al-Islam group since the start of the war on Saddam Hussein’s regime. The US General Tommy Franks said ground troops had now seized control of the "literally huge" terror camp and were searching the area for intelligence.
He added: "The exploitation of that is in its very early stages. There will be a lot of speculation and a lot of discussion. We’ll see how it goes over the days ahead." At least 120 militants were killed in the attack led by US special forces troops.
General Franks said the base was in Northern Iraq but did not give any further details. It is believed to be one run by the Ansar-al-Islam group, which Washington claims is connected to al-Qaeda.
Ansar-al-Islam has been operating from a base in the remote mountains of north-east Iraq, along its border with Iran. As many as 800 fighters were thought to have been based there in a band of territory north of Halabja.
The base is within territory controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, although its remote location has allowed Ansar-al-Islam to operate relatively freely in the area.
The elimination of the Ansar-al-Islam was one of the key aims of the US-led invasion after the targeting of Saddam Hussein and his regime.
It is believed the coalition attacks were helped by intelligence from the Kurdish peshmerga militia which also want to see the terrorist group ousted from the region. The PUK mobilised an estimated 5,000 fighters to help US special forces launch a ground assault on the Ansar-al-Islam base.
The faction has been involved in bloody fighting with PUK peshmerga guerrillas and in one attack on a village in the region, it butchered 42 captured PUK fighters. It has also been blamed for assassinations and terrorist attacks, including a suicide car bomb at a PUK checkpoint last weekend which killed five, including an Australian TV cameraman.
Ansar-al-Islam has become increasingly isolated after Iran distanced itself from the group last year, expelling its alleged leader Najm Faraj Ahmad, also known as Mullah Krekar, after he was detained in Tehran.
Krekar was arrested in Norway earlier this month and charged with planning terrorist acts. If any evidence of a chemical weapons programme or other terrorist activities is discovered by US soldiers at the Ansar-al-Islam base it would bolster the case for war.
LOL...I didn't!
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