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US raid fails
11/08/2003 20:53 - (SA)
Ain Lalin, Iraq - US soldiers piled out of Black Hawk helicopters on Monday in a failed raid on a remote village near the Iranian border where American forces believed one of Iraq's top fugitives was plotting guerrilla attacks on US forces.
The pre-dawn raid on the village of Ain Lalin about 100km northeast of Baghdad failed to capture its main target, a former regime member who is on the US list 55 of most-wanted Iraqis and who has gained a growing importance as the coalition thins the ranks of Saddam Hussein's inner circle, said Lieutenant Colonel Mark Young. His 67th Armoured Regiment's 3rd Battalion sealed off the village during the raid. He did not name the target.
"Even if we didn't get the guy it shows there is nowhere that the coalition can't go and for these guys can find sanctuary," Young said as soldiers, searched homes and vehicles leaving the village.
"If I was Saddam Hussein, I would be sleeping with one eye open and probably be a nervous wreck by now," he said. "He's got to hear footsteps behind him."
The raid, dubbed Operation Cliffhanger by the Army, began as the dark silhouettes of 14 Black Hawks crept in low behind a ridge just east of the village dropping off soldiers who cut off escape routes the south and east. Tanks rumbled in from the west. Apache helicopter gunships swooped down on the village as US Air Force A-10 tankbuster planes and F-15 fighters flew overhead to prevent vehicles from escaping.
The village, about 45km from the border with Iran, was a rural area where US forces had not yet established a presence, Young said.
"To maintain the element of surprise, we intentionally had not gone close to this area," Young said.
The Army had been warned that their target, like many in Saddam's inner circle, had men on lookout to act as an early warning network and could have anti-aircraft guns set up in the village, Young said. However, there was no resistance and soldiers from the 8th Infantry Regiment's 2nd Brigade searched door to door entering each of the village's 40 houses.
Soldiers detained about 70 men and were still questioning many of them late on Monday, 4th Infantry spokeswoman Maj. Josslyn Aberle said. Soldiers also found five arms caches which included unspecified quantities of mortars, tank rounds and artillery rounds, she added.
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