10 000 US troops in offensive
2007-06-19 15:39
Baghdad - The US military deployed
10 000 soldiers backed by attack helicopters in a big offensive
against al-Qaeda north of Baghdad on Tuesday as a truck bomber
struck in the capital, killing 75 people near a Shi'ite mosque.
The offensive against al-Qaeda around the city of Baquba in
Diyala province - a stronghold of the Sunni Islamist group - is
partly aimed at taking down car bomb networks that cause carnage
in Baghdad and other regions of Iraq.
It is one of the biggest
military operations since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
One witness said a suicide bomber driving a truck rammed his
vehicle into the Shi'ite Khilani mosque in Baghdad, destroying
one of its walls and badly damaging the rest of the structure.
Police said 75 people had been killed and 130 people
wounded. Rescuers dragged bodies from the mosque while the
charred remains of others could be seen in burnt-out minibuses.
It was the deadliest attack in Baghdad since a car bomb on
April 18 killed 140 near a market.
US military commanders said they were taking advantage of
the completion of a build-up of American forces in Iraq under a
crackdown in Baghdad that began four months ago.
The crackdown
has forced many militants to move to areas around the capital.
- Reuters