Topic: US-Iraqi forces launch military operation in western Iraq

Team Infidel

BAGHDAD, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- US and Iraqi forces on Friday launched
Operation Shank in western Iraq to eradicate the seedbed of terror attacks,
the US military said in a statement.
"Approximately 200 Iraqi Army soldiers and 300 Marines, assigned to the
2nd Brigade Combat Team, launched Operation Harba (War) today in Ramadi,"
the statement said.
It said the purpose of the operation is to "disrupt a terrorist group
that utilizes Ramadi as its base for attacks on local citizens and
soldiers."
On Thursday, al-Qaida group in Iraq launched mortar attacks on US bases
in Ramadi as its gunmen seized the streets.
Ramadi, 100 km west of Baghdad, has long been a bastion of insurgency
against US and Iraqi troops.
US and Iraqi troops have waged a series of offensives in the volatile
western Iraq over the past few weeks.

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