EFL: U.S. and Iraqi troops launched an operation in western Iraq to clear insurgents from a suspected safe area used to make car and roadside bombs, the military said Wednesday.
The campaign came as President Bush defended his Iraq policy by releasing a new war strategy, saying more Iraqi security forces are taking the lead in battle but adding that it is still uncertain when U.S. forces can withdraw.
About 1,500 U.S. Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 500 U.S. soldiers and 500 Iraqi soldiers were taking part in Operation Iron Hammer near Hit, 85 miles west of Baghdad, a U.S. Marine statement said. The forces would concentrate efforts in the Hai Al Becker region, where U.S. and Iraqi troops rarely patrol, it added.
'The Hai Al Becker region is suspected to be an al-Qaida in Iraq safe area and base of operations for the manufacture of vehicle car bombs, roadside bombs,' the military said. It added that the area is believed to be a stopping point for insurgents traveling down the Euphrates River from Syria into Iraq.
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Facing criticism and impatience about the conflict, the White House released a 35-page plan titled 'Our National Strategy for Victory in Iraq.' The plan says increasing numbers of Iraqi troops have been equipped and trained, a democratic government is being forged, Iraq's economy is being rebuilt and U.S. military and civilian presence will change as conditions improve.
Along with the report, Bush made a personal appeal to shore up wavering support for the war in remarks Wednesday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. _ the first in a series of speeches between now and the parliamentary elections. |