[Oldeconomybuyer]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Army troops parachuted into and took control of a key airfield in northern Iraq on Wednesday, becoming the first sizable American military presence in that part of the country, defense officials said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said elements of the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Italy, parachuted into the airfield. The officials would not state the precise location of the airfield nor give the number of troops involved.

A defense official said that before this operation, several hundred special forces troops had been operating on the ground in northern Iraq.

[cgbg]

The officials would not state the precise location of the airfield nor give the number of troops involved.

Perhaps because Reuters has spent this last week giving aid and comfort to the enemy? Nah. ;-)