Ramadi insurgents targeted
2005-12-02 13:30
Baghdad - US and Iraqi forces in Iraq launched a new operation in Ramadi on Friday, the day after militants staged a symbolic attack on the town, as a new report suggested the insurgency could get stronger.
Approximately 200 Iraqi Army soldiers and 300 Marines are taking part in Operation Shank, the fifth operation over the last few weeks targeting insurgents in the area around Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
The offensive came a day after residents of Ramadi reported on Thursday a sudden insurgent presence on the streets, with dozens of fighters roaming unchecked through Ramadi and putting up al-Qaeda posters.
Images of the operation appeared on several satellite channels even as US military spokespeople insisted that these "spurious" reports were just propaganda.
"So the idea that there is this massive uprising in insurgents in Ramadi to have retaken control of the town is incorrect," said coalition forces spokesperson Major General Rick Lynch on Thursday.
Lynch explained that a series of operations over the last few months has been slowly clearing the restive western province of al-Anbar, of which Ramadi is the capital, of insurgents.
Operations have moved from the town of al-Qaim, on the Syrian border, eastward down the Euphrates valley towards Ramadi and Fallujah.
"We've watched a gravitation of those (insurgents) able to escape towards Ramadi, that's why operations now are focused on Ramadi and Fallujah," he said.
"Between now and the 15 days before the elections, we will conduct detailed operations to ensure that the people of Ramadi can vote," he added.
'We call on the American forces to leave Iraqi cities...'
The main Sunni political coalition, however, said that it would be easier for people to vote in these towns if the US forces pulled out during the election.
"We call on the American forces to leave Iraqi cities, especially the unstable ones, to allow for their residents to exercise their electoral rights in a normal fashion," the Iraqi Concord Front (ICF) said.
According to Lynch these operations have dealt severe blows against the insurgents, especially the forces of Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"He is struggling because we have taken away his freedom of movement," said Lynch.
A study released by the Washington Institute of Near East Studies on Thursday, however, suggests that the insurgency remains robust as ever and could grow a good deal stronger.
Researchers said, the insurgency has managed to exploit only a fraction of the disgruntled minority Sunni Muslim population with any kind of military training.
"Should the insurgency succeed in exploiting this untapped potential, it could greatly increase its military capabilities," they wrote.
The analysts said the insurgents had scored "important tactical and operational successes" while establishing themselves as a major force in the Sunni community.