Mortar blasts thundered across central Baghdad yesterday as Iraqi and US forces fought insurgents in a Sunni bastion.
Iraqi and US troops backed by Apache helicopter gunships initiated "Operation Tomahawk Strike 11" on Haifa Street, Iraq's defense ministry said.
The Sunni Arab bastion was the site of three previous battles this month, including one on Jan. 9 that involved 1,000 US and Iraqi troops and in which Iraqi defense sources said 50 insurgents were killed.
Yesterday, a steady barrage of machine-gun and mortar fire echoed for around three hours, followed by a lull and then sporadic fire by both light and heavy weapons.
A US military statement said the operation included "targeted raids to disrupt illegal militia activity and help restore Iraq security force control in the area."
The offensive combined Iraqi army and police forces with elements of the US 1st Cavalry Division and a Stryker combat brigade.
It did not solely target Sunni insurgents, "but rather aimed at rapidly isolating all active insurgents and gaining control of this key central Baghdad location," the statement said.
Iraqi security officials said the US aircraft were reported to have provided cover fire for the joint force.
Six "terrorists" and three other suspects were arrested and large caches of weapons seized inside al-Karkh Middle School, which is located on Haifa Street, a defense ministry source said.
Haifa Street lies within 2km of the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government and US embassy.
Meanwhile south of the capital, Iraq's minister of higher education survived an ambush yesterday as he traveled to work, though one of his bodyguards was killed, a security source said.
Abed Dhiab al-Ujaili was in a convoy of cars on a highway which crosses the al-Buetha region when it was attacked, the source said.
"Coalition forces regret the death and strive to mitigate risks to civilians while in pursuit of terrorists," a military statement said.
North of Baghdad, US forces raided what it said was "a known terrorist safe house" and captured three suspects, but killed a 12-year-old boy.
On Tuesday, a helicopter owned by the US security firm Blackwater USA crashed in Baghdad, killing five people, a US defense official said.
The crash was clouded in confusion, with an Iraqi military official saying four of the men had been shot execution-style on the ground.
"We had a very bad day yesterday," US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters at a roundtable discussion at the embassy in the Green Zone in Baghdad. "We lost five fine men."
Khalilzad did not give more details, saying the crash was still under investigation and it was difficult to know exactly what happened because of "the fog of war."
An embassy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said three helicopters belonging to the security company Blackwater USA were involved. One had landed for an unknown reason and one of the Blackwater employees was shot at that point, he said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College