BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces surrounded and entered two towns near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Thursday in search of suspected al Qaeda militants, the military said on Thursday. The operation follows a series of insurgent attacks in the area where 31 Iraqi soldiers have been killed by rebels in the past five weeks, said a military statement.
U.S. and Iraqi officials had hoped the death of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. air strike in June would deal a major blow to the militant organization. But a security crackdown on al Qaeda in Baghdad since then has failed to ease violence.
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