US arrests 60 during sweep of Iraq ( 2003-06-30 11:02) (Agencies)
US forces kicked off a massive sweep Sunday, raiding more than 20 towns
across a wide swath of Iraq and netting at least 60 suspects in a show of air
and infantry power designed to crush resistance and stem a wave of deadly
attacks on American troops.
Sunni Muslims in Iraq shout slogans as they gather outside
the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday June 29, 2003, to protest
the arrest a sheik by US troops. [AP]
The raids by the 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse troops came
as the US civilian administrator of Iraq said American forces must kill or
capture Saddam Hussein so he can no longer be a rallying point for
anti-coalition attacks.
The latest operation, dubbed "Sidewinder," began at 2 a.m. local time across
an area of central Iraq stretching from the Iranian border to the areas north of
Baghdad. It's expected to last for several days, according to military officials
in Camp Boom, near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
The region has become "the nexus of paramilitary activity in central Iraq,"
the military said in a statement.
There were no reports of US casualties, the military said, nor was there any
indication that the operation had netted any of Iraq's most wanted fugitives.
"We go in with such overwhelming combat power that they won't even think
about shooting us," Lt. Col. Mark Young said before the start of the operation.
The raids targeted loyalists from Saddam's former Baath Party, "terrorists
suspected of perpetrating attacks against US forces and former Iraqi military
leaders," the military said.
At least 63 American soldiers have died in Iraq since major combat was
declared over May 1, close to one-third of them killed in attacks, raising the
total US death toll to more than 200 since the March 20 start of the war. Some
42 British forces have died.
The American forces arrested a man in Khalis, 45 miles north of Baghdad,
suspected of recruiting others to launch attacks on US troops. In Dojima, a town
where Sunni Muslim residents recently polished the still-standing portrait of
Saddam, police raided the homes of alleged Saddam loyalists they suspected of
hiding caches of arms, including rocket-propelled grenades - the weapon of
choice in many recent ambushes.
The military also announced the arrest Saturday of 15 suspects in Mosul, in
northern Iraq, confiscating Baath party documents and Republican Guard uniforms,
as well as weapons.
Insurgents have stepped up their attacks against US troops in recent days,
carrying out ambushes against military convoys, shooting soldiers, and lobbing
grenades.
US officials in Washington have said repeatedly that no centralized Iraqi
resistance to American rule remains. Commanders on the ground suggest some
organization.
Young called the resistance in areas northeast of Baghdad "an organized
effort." Capt. John Wrann, also involved in Sidewinder, said: "It's got to be a
coordinated thing."
The top US official in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, stressed the need to capture
Saddam, although there's no evidence the former Iraqi leader himself is behind
the violence.
"I think it is important that we either catch him or kill him," Bremer told
the British Broadcasting Corp. "There is no doubt that the fact that we have not
been able to show his fate allows the remnants on the Baath regime to go around
the bazaars and villages and say Saddam will come back so do not cooperate with
the coalition."
Bremer said progress was being made in restoring basic services to the
country such as health care, water and power supplies. Speaking from Iraq, he
said Baghdad now had 18 to 20 hours of electricity a day and that law and order
would soon be restored.
"Am I satisfied? No," said Bremer, "We will do our best and we will succeed.
I do not know when that will be."
Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi said Sunday he believes that
Saddam had issued a written plan to foment postwar chaos in case of his defeat,
including attacks on US forces and the sabotaging of oil pipelines, electricity
and water.
"I think that Saddam had this plan done, and it's being implemented by the
remnants of his regime," Chalabi said on CNN's "Late Edition."
Ordinary Iraqis are growing more and more frustrated with the lack of water
and electricity, especially with temperatures soaring as high as 117 degrees
Fahrenheit. They are also clamoring for improved security in the capital, where
nightly blackouts have helped turn the streets over to roaming bandits.
"It is true America is strong but it will not be good for America if they
don't get this situation under control," said Haleem Shaqir, a 65-year-old
merchant. "We need stability. We need security."
The shaky relationship between occupier and occupied came to the fore in a
confrontation Sunday morning in Fallujah, a restive town west of Baghdad that's
seen a number of attacks on US troops since the Americans shot and killed 20
protesters during demonstration in April.
A shouting match broke out when an Iraqi civilian, Jamal Shalal Habib
al-Mahemdi, accused a US soldier of stealing $600 from his car.
The soldier tried to wave the man on, but, at the behest of bystanders, his
superior officer, Sgt. James A. Phillips, searched his pockets and found the
money. Phillips then returned the bills to al-Mahemdi, who waved them above his
head and cursed the soldier.
It was not clear if the soldier, whose name was not immediately available,
would be disciplined. Maj. Sean Gibson, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, said
he had not heard of the incident but was sure it would be investigated.
The incident was witnessed by an Associated Press photographer.
Meanwhile, two American troops were injured and an Iraqi civilian was killed
when an explosive device went off alongside a US military convoy on a road
leading to Baghdad International Airport, the military said.
In other violence, insurgents on Sunday ambushed a US patrol west of Baghdad
using rocket propelled grenades.
One of the grenades struck a Bradley fighting vehicle patrolling near
Khaldiyah, 35 miles west of Baghdad, but didn't cause any significant damage or
injuries. US troops returned fire with 25 mm cannon, but apparently failed to
inflict any casualties on the attackers, who ran away.
