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Iraqis Hear Explosions As Massive U.S. Assault Begins 'Operation Swarmer' Is Biggest Assault Since Iraq Invasion
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Day one of what the military calls the biggest air assault since the Iraq invasion in 2003 has resulted in the capture of some enemy weapon caches.
The attack is being called "Operation Swarmer," one operation in the overall war which is called "Operation Iraqi Freedom." It is an attempt not just to go after the insurgents, but to go after those who are sparking sectarian violence and to try to demonstrate that Iraqi security forces are really in the field and working together with U.S. forces, CNN reported.
The United States said more than 1,500 Iraqi and coalition troops are taking part in the operation to clear out militants in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad. They're using over 200 tactical vehicles and more than 50 aircraft.
An Iraqi spokesman said the area in the so-called Sunni Triangle contains gunmen who've been killing policemen, soldiers and civilians. Iraq's interim foreign minister said militants need to "be pulled out by the roots."
Residents in the area being targeted said they could hear large explosions in the distance. Residents said the action seems to be centered near four towns near a highway where rebels have repeatedly set up roadblocks.
It isn't clear if the U.S. aircraft have carried out any raids, and there have been no reports of militant resistance.
Iraq's interim foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said that the attack is necessary to keep militants from forming a new stronghold. He said the combat is "to root out those insurgents and to make the supply lines safer to Baghdad."
Initial reports from area of the attack are that a number of enemy weapons caches -- containing artillery shells, explosives, materials for making homemade bombs, and military uniforms -- have been recovered.
The military said the operation is expected to last over several days against rebel targets in the area as a thorough search of the objective area is conducted.
"Operation Swarmer" began Thursday morning with soldiers from the Iraqi army's 1st Brigade, 4th Division; the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team; and the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade conducting a combined air and ground assault to isolate the objective area, military officials said.
The military said that "Operation Swarmer" is closely following the completion of a combined Iraqi and coalition operation west of Samarra in early March that yielded substantial enemy weapons and equipment caches.
Samarra was the site of a massive bombing against a Shiite shrine on Feb. 22 that touched off sectarian bloodshed that has killed more than 500 and injured hundreds more, threatening to push Iraq into civil war.
The operation came as Iraq's new parliament was sworn in Thursday, with parties still deadlocked over the next government, vehicles banned from Baghdad's streets to prevent car bombings and the country under the shadow of a feared civil war.
The name Swarmer, the MNF-I statement explained, was derived from the name given to the largest peacetime airborne maneuvers ever conducted, in spring 1950 in North Carolina. Soon after this exercise, the 187th Infantry was selected to deploy to Korea as an airborne regimental combat team to provide Gen. Douglas MacArthur with an airborne capability, according to the military.
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