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| Friday, 13 June 2003 |
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US troops nab about 400 Iraqi suspects in massive crackdown Iraq, Thursday (AFP) The US military, stung by sporadic guerrilla strikes in Iraq, has lunged back at presumed assailants, rounding up about 400 suspects in what is seen as one the largest combat operations since the fall of Baghdad, US defense officials said late Wednesday. "It's an ongoing operation, and we don't discuss the size or scope of such things until they are over," Central Command spokesman Lieutenant Ryan Fitzgerald pointed out. But he said Operation "Peninsula Strike" was "one of the largest operations in a continuing effort to secure the peace in Iraq." The two-phased operation consisted of a series of raids to eradicate Baath Party loyalists, paramilitary groups and other "subversive elements" that US intelligence believed had found refuge in several communities perched on a peninsula along the Tigris River, northeast of the town of Balad, according to the command. It started early Monday, when a brigade-size task force, mainly from the Fourth Infantry Division, moved into position on the perimeter of the peninsula and established multiple checkpoints, cutting off escape routes to suspected militants. During the second stage, air and ground assault teams and commandos in river patrol boats moved in to round up and arrest suspected guerrillas. The attack was supported from the air by combat helicopters, fighter jets and other warplanes, defense officials said without providing specifics. As of Wednesday the troo ps had seized 397 Iraqi suspects, and large quantities of weapons and ammunition, according to the Central Command. The detainees are being interrogated by special units that are trying to collect information, "which can be used in the apprehension of hostile groups who continue to try to harm coalition forces and innocent Iraqi people," the command said. |
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