United States and Iraqi forces on Thursday launched a massive airborne operation north of Baghdad, involving over 50 aircraft and more than 1 500 troops, to flush out rebels loyal to al-Qaeda’s Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, US and Iraqi officials said.
Operation Swarmer, described as the largest air assault operation since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, aims to clear ”a suspected insurgent operating area” north-east of Samarra, over 125km north of Baghdad, a US military statement said.
US forces recently said a number of al-Qaeda insurgents were ensconced in this hilly area, known as Hamreen.
”The operation is targeting bases of militants loyal to Zarqawi,” a senior Iraqi army officer told Agence France Presse.
The combined air and ground assault, involving US soldiers from the 101st Airborne division, along with Iraqi troops and special commandos, was launched after authorities received reports of daily clashes in the area, the officer added.
”Attack and assault aircraft provided aerial weapons support for the operation and also delivered troops,” the US military said for its part.
Some 200 vehicles were also involved in the operation.
The military said a number of weapons caches, containing explosives and artillery shells, had been uncovered, adding that the operation was expected to continue for several days.
Another recent operation, west of the Sunni city of Samarra, had also yielded ”substantial enemy weapons and equipment caches,” the military said.
Last month, Iraqi army units had started to infiltrate the remote hilly area looking for al-Qaeda members who were believed to have fled former city strongholds after falling out with tribal leaders.
”Our plan is to eliminate all pockets of the insurgency and this will go on for the next month to search out their bases,” Iraqi Major General Anwar Hama Amin, leader of the Kirkuk-based division of the Iraqi Army, said at the time. — Sapa-AP