March 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. military and Iraqi forces launched the largest air assault in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion in a bid to root out insurgents hiding around Samarra.
Operation Swarmer began early today in the southern part of Salah Ad-Din province with more than 1,500 U.S. and Iraqi troops, about 200 tactical vehicles, and more than 50 aircraft, the U.S. military said in a statement e-mailed from Baghdad.
The goal of the raid is to ``clear a suspected insurgent operating area north east of Samarra,'' the military said. The assault is expected to continue for several days as a thorough search of the area is conducted, it said.
[...] Weapons caches containing artillery shells, explosives, bomb making materials, and military uniforms were discovered during today's raid, according to the statement. Earlier this month, U.S. and Iraq troops found weapons and equipment caches west of Samarra, it said. |