Posted on 10/04/2005 7:47:22 PM PDT by Wiz
HADITHA, Iraq - U.S. troops pushed through streets sown with bombs Tuesday in their biggest operation this year in western Iraq, seeking to retake three Euphrates River towns from al-Qaida insurgents. At least five U.S. service members have been killed in the fighting.
Operation River Gate — launched at the start of the holy month of Ramadan — was the second U.S. offensive in a week in Anbar province, near the Syrian border. Al-Qaida in Iraq called for intensified attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces during the Muslim period of fasting, which started Tuesday for the nation's Sunnis.
Blasts from U.S. warplanes and helicopters lit up the sky during the fighting, aimed at putting down Sunni-led insurgents intensifying their campaign of violence ahead of an Oct. 15 vote on Iraq's new constitution.
As with the earlier U.S. offensive — code named Iraq Fist — it appeared many fighters may have slipped away beforehand.
On the political front, U.S. and U.N. officials were trying to avert a Sunni Arab boycott of the referendum, which would deeply undermine the validity of a constitution Washington hopes will unite Iraq's factions and weaken the insurgency.
Officials met Tuesday with Shiite and Kurdish leaders to persuade them to reverse the Shiite-led government's last-minute change to voting rules ahead of the Oct. 15 vote. Sunday's change makes it almost impossible for minority Sunnis to reject the constitution — all guaranteeing its passage.
Sunni Arab leaders have opposed the draft constitution all along, but the United States wants them to participate in the vote.
Late Monday and early Tuesday, some 2,500 U.S. troops along with Iraqi forces launched their operation with a powerful air assault on Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Parwana, about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Dozens of helicopters streamed toward the Euphrates towns in a phalanx, seen by an Associated Press reporter. Rockets fired by choppers flashed in the pre-dawn darkness, followed by explosions and arches of tracer fire.
At least twice, illuminating flares went up over Haqlaniyah — a sign U.S. troops were fighting insurgents on the ground.
American warplanes struck bridges to prevent al-Qaida in Iraq fighters from escaping the towns, but arriving troops encountered dozens of roadside bombs on main avenues, apparently in anticipation of the operation, Marine commanders said.
A single roadside bomb in Haqlaniyah on Monday killed three U.S. service members, apparently among the first ground troops to move in.
U.S. snipers took positions on rooftops in Haqlaniyah as troops with loudspeakers ordered residents to stay inside, witnesses said.
In Haditha, mosque loudspeakers urged residents to confront the Americans, but Marines said they encountered little resistance.
"Some of them may have gotten away. But those that are here, we'll get them," said Capt. Shannon Neller, of New York, commander of Lima Company in 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Troops were concentrating on "systematically clearing" Haditha by doing house-to-house searches and locating bombs planted around town, Neller said.
"A lot of the locals we met were very helpful, and a lot pointed out insurgents or those who had been helping them," Neller said. At least 11 people were detained.
The earlier U.S. offensive began Saturday, 93 miles upriver by the Syrian border, and continued Tuesday in the towns of Sadah, Karabilah and Rumana. A bomb killed a Marine in Karabilah, the first casualty of that operation.
At least 41 insurgents have been killed in Iraqi Fist, the U.S. military said. But many fighters appeared to have fled before the assault, with the military reporting no major engagements Tuesday.
The deaths in the two operations, along with that of a soldier shot in the western town of Taqaddum, raised to at least 1,940 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Operation River Gate was notable for the strongest participation this year by Iraqi troops — U.S. commanders said hundreds were involved — at a time of deep concerns about their readiness.
The simultaneous strikes appeared aimed at breaking two insurgent strong points.
The small, isolated towns near the border have been used as way stations for foreign fighters joining the fight. Haditha is also an "an important crossroads" for al-Qaida smuggling of fighters and weapons, the military said.
Together, the Haditha area towns form a larger population center — with more than 100,000 residents — where militants have been operating almost freely after driving out Iraqi security forces with a series of bloody attacks earlier this year.
Twenty Marines and an Iraqi interpreter were killed in Haditha in an ambush and roadside bomb on Aug. 1 and Aug 3. Last spring, a suicide car bombing wrecked Haditha General Hospital, the region's largest. The U.S. military has said that Iraq's most-wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of Al-Qaida in Iraq, once had a home in Haditha.
The new U.S. assault is "step forward to eliminating insurgents and giving the country back to the Iraqi people," said Col. Stephen W. Davis, who said it would also help people in area freely vote Oct. 15.
Insurgent violence has killed at least 237 people, including 21 U.S. service members, in the past nine days ahead of the referendum.
In Baghdad, Iraqi security forces backed by U.S. helicopters fought about 40 gunmen house-to-house Tuesday in south Baghdad. More than three dozen insurgents were killed, wounded or detained, the U.S. military said. Three Iraqi soldiers were injured.
Also Tuesday, a suicide car bomb exploded at the main entrance to the heavily fortified Green Zone, a district of Iraqi government buildings and the U.S. and British embassies. The blast killed at least two policemen.
Separately, the leader of an extremist Islamic group that threatened to use chemical weapons against U.S. positions and the Iraqi government has also been killed in Iraq, according to an Internet statement posted Tuesday. Al-Haj Othman, the emir of the Mujahedeen of the Victorious Sect Brigades, was killed in fighting, said the statement. It did not provide any other details.
With the start of Ramadan, Al-Qaida in Iraq urged fighters to make it a "month of victory for Muslims and a month of defeat for the hypocrites and polytheists."
Previous Ramadans saw a spike in violence in Iraq — especially suicide attacks, in part because some Islamic extremists believe those who die in combat during Ramadan are especially blessed.
ping
Good hunting, and know that we appreciate all you do.
The River War goes on. This is not a search and destroy mission. The goal is to take these towns and hold them.
"The new U.S. assault is "step forward to eliminating insurgents and giving the country back to the Iraqi people," said Col. Stephen W. Davis, who said it would also help people in area freely vote Oct. 15."
When you have to retake towns, giving them back to the Iraqi people seems to lead to an eternal US presence.
By the time these operations are complete between the six cities/towns, on both sides of the Euphrates, and the crossing of route #10 into Syria is effectively clossed down, the goons that can managed to escape have little place to run to. The only town within this area of operation that is known to openly have supported terrorist is Kariballah on the south banks of the river. The reports seldom make the point that the Al Queda have no place to set up shop anymore. To the south along a long stretch of the Euphrates going downward to Ar Ramadi, we continue to also see Iraqi,US Army, and Marines performing like raids, and 24/7 cordon and search operations. As these ongoing SASO continue, each day more goons are killed or captured. And those that are captured, you can bet are spilling their guts out. Do take notice in the many maps shown at the Forth Rail, and elsewhere, once one goes much west of these towns there is nothing. No towns. Nothing but the cruel Syrian desert to contend with. They goons can't use the main road westward to try to escape because then they run into the 24/7 ground/air recon patrolling of the Marine 1st LAR in the far NW Al Anbar area. So unless someone hides them, they are going to get wiped out this time around.
Have you stumbled upon decent topographic maps online?
There may be others but these two are excellent.
And Wretched has a note tonight on Topo Maps.
Correction....Wretchard for Wretched....sorry.
You will find a free package you can download. It is an executable for USE ONLY on Windows 2000 OR XP systems WHERE YOU have a broadband connection. It will not work on a W98 or ME system. I tried it, with no success. So if you have by chance XP or Windows 2000, you may want to give it a shot. And no there is no Apple versions available. One would enter GPS coordinates, e.g. HH:MM:SS to zero in on a given part of the plantet, then I assume downloaded the sat photo that emerges, or perhaps it automatically downloades to one's system. Other then that I can't help you. Sorry I cannot be of more assistance. I am also in search of a site for maps that show ground features in detail, with no success thus far.
Much thanks.
Heading on over to have a look at the sites.
So is that something different than what Wretchard is talking about in his latest note on Belmont club?
Why do our troops have to put up with this crap!
Level these damn so called mosques!!! Bomb them to rubble
and crush everyone inside of them! In fact, as matter of general principle, SMASH ALL DAMMED MOSQUES OVER THERE.
"So is that something different than what Wretchard is talking about in his latest note on Belmont club?"
E. If you are refering to the map questions and my answer to Racehorse. YES. This site I mentioned at Berkely I had used for two years plus to download maps of areas in Iraq. The second example is something Bill Roggio told me about yesterday. It is a tool that will not work on Microsoft ME. But that is what he used to show the black and white sat photo the other day on one of the operation Iron Fist dispatches.
I can see what you refered to at Belmont club looks very interesting, and as I write am looking at the Belmont site on the map discussion.
Much thanks to you, too. Caught your post just as I was about to check out Ernest_at-the_Beach's links.
I'm familiar with the UT map collection. Might try the google download. I have Windows 2000 and a very fast broadband. That might give me most of what I want.
But, looks like you and I are looking for exactly the same level of detail.
Thanks again.
Well I see that you are another member of the Nuke em all Club....
"But, looks like you and I are looking for exactly the same level of detail. Thanks again."
Go for it! I think the sat package may be a lot of fun. I shall continue my quest. I may try a terraform web site I used a few years back to obtain sat photos one could convert into upgrading sections of earth for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Please don't feel obligated to respond however. I am sure you are now quite busy downloaded and installing and running the package etc..
One thing I will say is the maps I am downloading from UCLA site are quite detailed and give me further prove that I am not far off the mark as to the geophysical features of the land along the Syrian border I have been harping about for some months. Lots of undulating desert hills, ravines, wadi etc.. And when I fly over these areas in my trusty F16 or F18 and fly low say from Al Asad westward along the Syrian border and south to the main road grids, surely I see quite a bit of varying terrain, low mountainous areas etc.. So the area is not just one flat desert one can walk about with no problems. Have fun.
'Retake'.
I find that very discouraging. We should never have to 'retake' anything. And yet we continue to have to do so. It really makes me wonder.
Re: your Belmont Club link, which is great, BTW. But's what's with the leak during Congressional testimony? Who leaked the info?
God Bless our brave warriors!!!!
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