U.S.-Iraqi assault grabs insurgents, weapons
Commander denies politics involved in timing of operation
NEAR SAMARRA, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. and Iraqi forces ferreted out insurgents and weapons caches in a rural area north of Baghdad on Friday, U.S. military officials said, as Operation Swarmer entered its second day.
Soldiers detained at least 31 people and found more than half a dozen weapons caches in a 10-mile-by-10-mile area outside Samarra, U.S. military officials said.
A commander of multi-national forces, Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, told reporters Friday that there was "very, very light resistance" in the region of the operation -- about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of the capital. (Watch former top U.S. general explain what's behind Operation Swarmer -- 4:49)
"This operation was a follow-on to additional operations conducted prior to this in that general area," said Chiarelli.
"We conducted one about three weeks ago called Katrina, which gave us a lot of information about some of those cells and those operations."
The weapons caches contained artillery shells, explosives, material used to build roadside bombs, and military uniforms.
There have been reports during the war of insurgents conducting attacks while dressed in military or police garb.
About 1,500 people live in the area and 100 insurgents are thought to be operating there.
A U.S. soldier with Task Force Band of Brothers was shot and killed Thursday while manning an observation post in Samarra, the U.S. military said Friday.
The soldier was from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, the military said. The death brought the number of U.S. troops killed in the war to 2,314, according to U.S. military reports.
Operation Swarmer highlights what the U.S. military has been touting as the growing effectiveness and participation of Iraqi forces in the war effort.
The Pentagon has called it the largest air assault operation in Iraq since U.S.-led forces attacked almost exactly three years ago.
In an air tour of the area, CNN's Nic Robertson was taken to a farmhouse being searched by troops and a command post that was manned by Iraqi and U.S. forces. (Watch Robertson on his visit to the operation command post -- 1:49)
"This was a joint operation, perhaps more joint than those that we've seen in the past," Robertson said.
The offensive is focused on three villages where insurgents are believed to be based, according to Iraqi security sources. The targeted region is in Salaheddin province, a largely Sunni Arab region but with pockets of Shiite areas. Anti-U.S. sentiment is prevalent in the province.
Troops were looking for rebels suspected in lootings and killings, including the deaths of three Al-Arabiya television journalists killed while reporting on the February 22 bombing of the revered Al-Askariya Mosque in Samarra.
The bombing triggered deadly sectarian attacks that sparked fears of a civil war.
On Friday, about 900 U.S. and Iraqi troops were engaged in Operation Swarmer, said Maj. Tom Bryant, a spokesman for the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. Originally, about 1,500 forces took part in the offensive, which began at dawn Thursday.
More than 50 helicopters and 200 tactical ground vehicles were involved, the U.S. command in Baghdad said. Bryant said Iraqi troops slightly outnumber U.S. forces.
Other recent operations have included greater numbers of troops, but with a smaller Iraqi presence. For instance, November's Operation Steel Curtain against insurgents in Husaybah had 550 Iraqi troops supporting a force of 3,000 U.S. Marines, soldiers and sailors.
With President Bush's low approval rating in opinion polls and the growing unpopularity of the Iraq war, Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli denied that politics influenced the timing of the operation.
"There was no attempt on anybody's part back here to time this to anything other than the intelligence that was coming in. It was an operation that we had been working on for a couple of months," Chiarelli said, speaking via teleconference from Iraq to reporters.
Chiarelli was asked about the chances of civil war, talk which he said is "nothing new."
The "possibility of civil war may be higher today than it has been in the last three years, yet I believe we are still far away such an event," he said.
"I don't want to downplay the tragedy of the violence that has occurred, however it maybe unfair to characterize every post-22nd February event as sectarian in nature."
Chiarelli said Operation Swarmer shows the development of Iraqi forces over the past year, progress he calls "absolutely amazing."
A year ago, such an operation would have been conducted primarily by U.S. forces, he said.
"The Iraqi army is increasingly taking the lead in operations and taking over responsibility for battles faced. They did a phenomenal job in providing security around the country following the Samarra bombing," he said. "They demonstrated a true understanding of their role in a democratic government. They were Iraqis first, dedicated to securing their country without regard for their religious or affiliations."
The operation's second day marks the third anniversary of Bush's televised ultimatum to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. On March 17, 2003, Bush said, "Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing." One Iraqi looked back on how things have changed since the war began. (Full story)
Other developments
Two Shiite pilgrims were among four people killed Friday in the Baghdad area as U.S. and Iraqi forces increased their presence on the streets of the capital in the run-up to a Shiite holy day and as efforts to form a national unity government continue. Three bodies also were found in Baghdad.
A Sunni politician was shot dead Friday in Ramadi as he was leaving a mosque, an Iraqi parliament member said. Khudhur Abd Al-Jabbar al-Abdali -- a senior official with the Sunni-led Iraqi Islamic Party and chairman of the Ramadi City Council -- was gunned down after noon prayers at the mosque, said parliamentarian Al'a Makki.
Nearly 2,000 Kurdish protesters on Thursday badly damaged a memorial to 5,000 residents killed in a poison-gas attack in Halabja by the Iraqi army in 1988, according to The Associated Press. Police fired into the air, killing one person and wounding at least eight, the AP reported. The demonstrators were demanding better social services and other aid from the regional Kurdish government in northern Iraq, the AP said. (Full story)
The U.S. military has opened an investigation into the deaths last year of 15 Iraqi civilians in the western city of Haditha, military sources said. (Full story)
CNN's Arwa Damon, Nic Robertson, Barbara Starr and Mohammad Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
Amerikanische Militäreinheiten in Verbindung mit irakischen Truppen setzten heute ihre Offensive gegen Stellungen mutmaßlicher Aufständischer in der Region von Samarra (im Norden Iraks) fort.

US-Militärsprecher sprachen heute jedoch nicht mehr von der größten Luftoffensive seit Beginn des Irakkrieges, sondern waren bemüht die Bedeutung der Militäraktion herunterzuspielen. Bei der Operation „Swarmer“ wird nach US-Militärangaben ein 16 mal 16 Kilometer großes Gebiet nach Aufständischen durchsucht.

Das irakische Außenministerium kritisierte das große Medienecho der Aktion: „Dieser Einsatz ist keine Invasion und die Medien haben überreagiert.“

Am gestrigen Donnerstag kam es nach US-Armeeangaben zu fünfzig Festnahmen, von denen 30 Personen weiter in Haft seien. Die Militäraktion konzentriert sich auf drei Dörfer in der Region. 

Während Beobachter das Eingreifen des Militärs in Zusammenhang mit dem Anschlag auf die Goldene Moschee von Samarra brachten und durch das Ansteigen der Gewalt im Irak in der Folge dieses Akts von der Gefahr eines Bürgerkrieges sprachen, bemühte sich die militärische Führung der US-Streitkräfte die Einschätzung der Lage im Irak in ein günstigeres Licht zu setzen. General John Abizaid vom US Zentral-Kommando für den Nahen Osten, Ost-Afrika und Zentral-Asien (CENTCOM) gab gegenüber dem Pressedienst des Pentagon die Einschätzung ab, der Irak befinde sich nicht am Rande eines Bürgerkrieges. Außerdem glaube er, im Irak werde eine Regierung der nationalen Einheit entstehen und die irakischen Sicherheitskräfte würden ihre Schlagkraft weiter verbessern. Für die Anschläge auf die Goldene Moschee machte er die Terrororganisation um Abu Musab az-Zarqawi verantwortlich und damit letztlich Al-Qaida, ohne dafür konkrete Beweise vorlegen zu können.