U.S. Forces Launch Operation in Baghdad

U.S.-led coalition forces launched a military operation in Baghdad late Wednesday, setting off a series of explosions that rumbled through the center of the Iraqi capital.

In Washington, a Pentagon official confirmed the operation but gave no details about exact location or reason.

Up to a dozen detonations were heard about 9:15 p.m., apparently centered away from the heart of the city.

The operation came hours after a deadly suicide bombing at a headquarters for Italian forces in Iraq in the southern city of Nasiriyah – the heaviest assault on American allies since the U.S.-led occupation.