US, Iraqi troops launch operation in Ramadi

RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) – U.S. and Iraqi troops launched an
operation designed to disrupt guerrilla activity in Ramadi on
Friday ahead of Iraq’s December 15 elections, one day after
insurgents staged a show of force in the western city.

Some 300 American Marines and 200 Iraqi army soldiers began
Operation Shank, the latest in a series of operations aimed at
disrupting guerrilla networks in Anbar province, the heartland
of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency.

“The purpose of the operation is to disrupt a terrorist
group that utilizes an area of Ramadi as its base for attacks
on local Ramadi citizens, Iraqi and U.S. military,” said a U.S.
military statement.

Insurgents launched a brief assault in Ramadi on Thursday
firing mortar rounds and rockets at a U.S. base and local
government buildings.

Leaflets were distributed saying that al Qaeda in Iraq, the
group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al Zarqawi, was
taking control of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar.

But after a couple of hours, most of the militants
dispersed and the city appeared to return to relative calm.

The U.S. military said reports of insurgents taking control
of the town were “completely unsubstantiated.”

American military officials describe Zarqawi as a master of
propaganda who exaggerates gains as part of his bloody campaign
to topple the Iraqi government.

Town residents said there was no sign of guerillas on the
streets on Friday.

Many insurgents moved to Ramadi after U.S. forces crushed
their base in nearby Falluja in November last year.

U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a new operation in an area
west of Ramadi on Wednesday, sending more than 2,000 soldiers
and Marines into Hit and surrounding towns to track down
militants and try to restore security ahead of polls.