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NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894   November 16, 2003Release Number: 03-11-24 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OPERATION IVY CYCLONE II TIKRIT, Iraq – The 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse has launched a series of combined arms operations to include air and ground strikes against identified targets, along with precision raids against non-compliant groups and individuals focused on neutralizing paramilitary, former regime loyalists, foreign fighters and other extremist and subversive elements within task force area of responsibility. Operation Ivy Cyclone II will utilize actionable intelligence combined...

<p>July 14, 2003 -- U.S. forces in central Iraq have launched a stepped-up nighttime push to hunt down diehard Saddam Hussein loyalists responsible for a series of bloody attacks on American troops.</p> <p>Soldiers participating in Operation Ivy Serpent over the weekend killed at least four suspected Iraqi terrorists who opened fire on Army scouts near the town of Baqouba.</p>

By BORZOU DARAGAHI, Associated Press Writer BALAD, Iraq - Facing an increasingly organized and violent resistance, the U.S. Army stepped up pressure on pro-Saddam Hussein holdouts Sunday with a fourth large offensive in central Iraq. At least four suspected loyalists were killed and big weapons caches were captured in the operation, called Ivy Serpent, which aims to blunt potential anti-American attacks ahead of now-banned holidays of Saddam's Baath Party. Meanwhile, the military announced that one soldier was killed and two others injured early Sunday when a tractor trailer crashed accidentally into their vehicle, parked at a checkpoint outside a base...

BALAD, Iraq (AP) -- American forces have launched a fourth major offensive against insurgents in central Iraq to blunt expected attacks against U.S. soldiers during upcoming holidays marking historical events of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, military officials said. U.S. military officials have received intelligence reports -- including letters addressed to community leaders urging attacks against Americans -- indicating that pro-Saddam and Islamist insurgents plan anti-U.S. actions. The strikes would be timed to the July 14, 1958 anniversary of the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy and the July 17, 1968 coup by Saddam's Baathist Party. The Army's 4th Infantry Division...