Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
By THOMAS WAGNER - Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - (AP) U.S. and Iraqi troops battled insurgents
house-to-house on Monday, the third day of an assault against al-Qaida-led
insurgents in a town near the Syrian border. The U.S. command reported the
first American death in the operation.
In Baghdad, a leading Sunni Arab politician, Adnan al-Dulaimi,
called Monday for a halt to U.S. and Iraqi military operations against
cities in order to encourage disaffected Sunnis to join the political
process and vote in national elections next month.
The U.S. commander of the joint force, Col. Stephen W. Davis, said
that by late Sunday, his troops had moved "about halfway" through Husaybah,
a market town along the Euphrates River about 200 miles northwest of
Baghdad.
At least 36 insurgents have been killed since the assault began
Saturday, and about 200 men have been detained, Davis told The Associated
Press by telephone. He did not give a breakdown of nationalities of the
detainees. Many were expected to be from a pro-insurgent Iraqi tribe.
A Marine was killed by small arms fire in Husaybah on Sunday, the
military said. The New York Times, which has a journalist embedded with the
U.S. forces, reported that three Marines were also wounded Sunday.
Elsewhere, an American soldier was killed Sunday by a roadside bomb
near Tikrit, the U.S. command said. The latest deaths raised to at least
2,047 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the
beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press
count.
Also Monday, five people were killed and four injured in east
Baghdad when a mortar shell exploded near a Turkomen club, police said. It
was unclear whether the club was the target.
U.S. officials have described Husaybah, which used to have a
population of about 30,000, as a stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq, which is
led by Jordanian extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Husaybah is a main entry
point for foreign fighters, weapons and ammunition entering from Syria. From
Husaybah, the fighters head down the Euphrates valley to Baghdad and other
cities.
CNN, which also had a reporter accompanying the Husaybah offensive,
said at least one Iraqi soldier has been wounded and that as many as 80
insurgents have died in the fighting. Marine officers said the higher
insurgent casualty figure was an estimate because many militants had died in
U.S. airstrikes and their bodies have not been recovered.
In a live report from the scene Monday morning, CNN said the
house-to-house battles were continuing, with ground forces supported by
Humvees and tanks working their way through the narrow streets of the bleak
desert town.
"We are meeting quite a bit of resistance here in Husaybah but the
offensive is going well," Capt. Conlon Carabine said in an interview with
CNN on Monday. "Our strategy is basically to kill the insurgents when we
come across them."
Carabine said U.S. and Iraqi forces plan to establish a long-term
presence in the town once the insurgents are routed. "Once we clear this
town, we're going to stay in this town," he said. "We're not going to leave
this population."
Davis said the militants were putting up a tough fight because "this
area is near and dear to the insurgents, particularly the foreign fighters"
because it is so close to the Syrian border.
"This has been the first stop for foreign fighters, and this is
strategic ground for them," he said.
The U.S.-led assault includes about 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and will
serve as a major test of the fledgling army's capability to battle
insurgents _ seen as essential to enabling the Bush administration to draw
down its 157,000-strong military presence.
Also Monday, the U.S. military announced that it had killed two
regional al-Qaida in Iraq leaders operating in the Husaybah area during air
strikes that destroyed several insurgent "safe houses" on Oct. 31 near the
towns of Karabilah and Obeidi.
It identified one of them as Abu Omar, who helped smuggle foreign
insurgents into the region and stage deadly roadside bomb attacks against
Iraqi and American forces. The other militant was identified as Abu Hamza,
who commanded several al-Qaida cells and helped launch attacks against
coalition forces, including ones based at U.S. Camp Gannon in the Husaybah
area, the military said.
The Americans hope the Husaybah operation, codenamed "Operation
Steel Curtain," will help restore enough security in the area so the Sunni
Arab population can participate in Dec. 15 national parliamentary elections.
If the Sunnis win a significant number of seats in the new
parliament, Washington hopes that will persuade more members of the minority
to lay down their arms and join the political process, enabling U.S. and
other international troops to begin withdrawing next year.
However, a protracted battle in Husaybah with civilian casualties
risks a backlash in the Sunni Arab community, which provides most of the
insurgents. Some Sunni politicians fear military operations will further
alienate fellow Sunni Arabs.
In Baghdad, al-Dulaimi urged military commanders Monday "to halt
their attacks against cities and take into consideration that innocent
people should not be punished because of the actions of others."
But al-Dulaimi also urged Sunnis not to boycott the Dec. 15 ballot.
The decision by many Sunnis to stay away from the polls during the January
election enabled rival Shiites and Kurds to win an overwhelming majority in
the current legislature.
"We will participate in the next elections in order to save Iraq and
I call upon all political entities not to boycott the elections," al-Dulaimi
added. "We will participate even if our houses were brought down upon us."
Two other Sunni politicians _ Mohsen Abdul-Hamid and Saleh al-Mutlaq
_ both sharply criticized the Husaybah offensive because of the risks to
civilians.
Elsewhere, a suicide car bomber exploded his vehicle Monday near an
Iraqi army unit responsible for guarding oil pipelines in the Fatha area, 65
miles southwest of Kirkuk.
One Iraqi soldier was killed and 12 others were injured, according
to police Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir. About 20 minutes later, another suicide
car bomb exploded nearby but caused no casualties, Qadir said.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - (AP) U.S. and Iraqi troops battled insurgents
house-to-house on Monday, the third day of an assault against al-Qaida-led
insurgents in a town near the Syrian border. The U.S. command reported the
first American death in the operation.
In Baghdad, a leading Sunni Arab politician, Adnan al-Dulaimi,
called Monday for a halt to U.S. and Iraqi military operations against
cities in order to encourage disaffected Sunnis to join the political
process and vote in national elections next month.
The U.S. commander of the joint force, Col. Stephen W. Davis, said
that by late Sunday, his troops had moved "about halfway" through Husaybah,
a market town along the Euphrates River about 200 miles northwest of
Baghdad.
At least 36 insurgents have been killed since the assault began
Saturday, and about 200 men have been detained, Davis told The Associated
Press by telephone. He did not give a breakdown of nationalities of the
detainees. Many were expected to be from a pro-insurgent Iraqi tribe.
A Marine was killed by small arms fire in Husaybah on Sunday, the
military said. The New York Times, which has a journalist embedded with the
U.S. forces, reported that three Marines were also wounded Sunday.
Elsewhere, an American soldier was killed Sunday by a roadside bomb
near Tikrit, the U.S. command said. The latest deaths raised to at least
2,047 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the
beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press
count.
Also Monday, five people were killed and four injured in east
Baghdad when a mortar shell exploded near a Turkomen club, police said. It
was unclear whether the club was the target.
U.S. officials have described Husaybah, which used to have a
population of about 30,000, as a stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq, which is
led by Jordanian extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Husaybah is a main entry
point for foreign fighters, weapons and ammunition entering from Syria. From
Husaybah, the fighters head down the Euphrates valley to Baghdad and other
cities.
CNN, which also had a reporter accompanying the Husaybah offensive,
said at least one Iraqi soldier has been wounded and that as many as 80
insurgents have died in the fighting. Marine officers said the higher
insurgent casualty figure was an estimate because many militants had died in
U.S. airstrikes and their bodies have not been recovered.
In a live report from the scene Monday morning, CNN said the
house-to-house battles were continuing, with ground forces supported by
Humvees and tanks working their way through the narrow streets of the bleak
desert town.
"We are meeting quite a bit of resistance here in Husaybah but the
offensive is going well," Capt. Conlon Carabine said in an interview with
CNN on Monday. "Our strategy is basically to kill the insurgents when we
come across them."
Carabine said U.S. and Iraqi forces plan to establish a long-term
presence in the town once the insurgents are routed. "Once we clear this
town, we're going to stay in this town," he said. "We're not going to leave
this population."
Davis said the militants were putting up a tough fight because "this
area is near and dear to the insurgents, particularly the foreign fighters"
because it is so close to the Syrian border.
"This has been the first stop for foreign fighters, and this is
strategic ground for them," he said.
The U.S.-led assault includes about 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and will
serve as a major test of the fledgling army's capability to battle
insurgents _ seen as essential to enabling the Bush administration to draw
down its 157,000-strong military presence.
Also Monday, the U.S. military announced that it had killed two
regional al-Qaida in Iraq leaders operating in the Husaybah area during air
strikes that destroyed several insurgent "safe houses" on Oct. 31 near the
towns of Karabilah and Obeidi.
It identified one of them as Abu Omar, who helped smuggle foreign
insurgents into the region and stage deadly roadside bomb attacks against
Iraqi and American forces. The other militant was identified as Abu Hamza,
who commanded several al-Qaida cells and helped launch attacks against
coalition forces, including ones based at U.S. Camp Gannon in the Husaybah
area, the military said.
The Americans hope the Husaybah operation, codenamed "Operation
Steel Curtain," will help restore enough security in the area so the Sunni
Arab population can participate in Dec. 15 national parliamentary elections.
If the Sunnis win a significant number of seats in the new
parliament, Washington hopes that will persuade more members of the minority
to lay down their arms and join the political process, enabling U.S. and
other international troops to begin withdrawing next year.
However, a protracted battle in Husaybah with civilian casualties
risks a backlash in the Sunni Arab community, which provides most of the
insurgents. Some Sunni politicians fear military operations will further
alienate fellow Sunni Arabs.
In Baghdad, al-Dulaimi urged military commanders Monday "to halt
their attacks against cities and take into consideration that innocent
people should not be punished because of the actions of others."
But al-Dulaimi also urged Sunnis not to boycott the Dec. 15 ballot.
The decision by many Sunnis to stay away from the polls during the January
election enabled rival Shiites and Kurds to win an overwhelming majority in
the current legislature.
"We will participate in the next elections in order to save Iraq and
I call upon all political entities not to boycott the elections," al-Dulaimi
added. "We will participate even if our houses were brought down upon us."
Two other Sunni politicians _ Mohsen Abdul-Hamid and Saleh al-Mutlaq
_ both sharply criticized the Husaybah offensive because of the risks to
civilians.
Elsewhere, a suicide car bomber exploded his vehicle Monday near an
Iraqi army unit responsible for guarding oil pipelines in the Fatha area, 65
miles southwest of Kirkuk.
One Iraqi soldier was killed and 12 others were injured, according
to police Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir. About 20 minutes later, another suicide
car bomb exploded nearby but caused no casualties, Qadir said.
