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US, Iraqi troops launch operation in Ramadi

Posted on: Friday, 2 December 2005, 11:20 CST

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.

Source: REUTERS

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