Iraq Report: Major Offensive Underway in Babil

Soldiers from the 5th Cavalry Regiment look
for weapons caches in Sumalot, Iraq.

Iraqi and U.S. forces have launched a multi-brigade operation south of Baghdad as the pursuit of al Qaeda in Iraq continues in Diyala and the north. Al Qaeda in Iraq and allied insurgent groups conducted multiple mass casualty attacks in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing over 80 and wounding upwards of 200. Meanwhile, Iraqi and Coalition forces continue to hunt the deadly "Special Group" cells associated with Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army.

Babil

Coalition and Iraqi forces have launched a major offensive in the town of Jurf al-Sakhr and a region known as the Fish Farms near Iskandariyah in northern Babil province. Operation Marne Avalanche is a multi-brigade operation of about 5,000 U.S. and 3,500 Iraqi troops. "The area is one of the most politically and tactically complicated in Iraq," Stars & Stripes reported. "It straddles the Shiite-Sunni fault line south of Baghdad."

The purpose of Marne Avalanche is to clear the region of insurgents, prevent the flow of weapons into Baghdad, and restore the security forces in the region. Past attempts to secure this region failed as police stations were hit with suicide attacks.

"Marne Avalanche will build on the successes of Task Force Marne's offensive operation, Marne Torch, which began June 1 and is ongoing," Multinational Forces Iraq stated in a press release. "To date, Operation Marne Torch resulted in 1,152 structures cleared, 83 insurgents killed, 278 insurgents detained, 51 caches found, 51 boats destroyed and 872 citizens entered in a biometric identification system."

In nearby Lutifiyah, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers captured 46 men "suspected of involvement with al Qaeda affiliated terror networks" during an air assault on July 12. "The combined air assault detained 29 men on the Iraqi army's list of persons of interest, and 14 others who were identified by sources as terrorists." Also, in Qarghuli Village, an Iraqi resident led U.S. troops to two weapons caches. Three U.S. troops were captured near Qarghuli in May 2007, and two are still missing.

The North

As the operations in Baghdad and the Belts intensify, suicide attacks in the north have increased. Today, a triple bombing in the flashpoint city of Kirkuk resulted in over 80 killed and 180 wounded. The majority of those killed and wounded were victims of a large suicide truck bomb. The suicide bomber targeted the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of President Jalal Talabani.

Today's attacks in Kirkuk are the latest in a series of strikes against Shia and Kurdish villages and cities in Tanim, Salahadin, and Diyala provinces. Al Qaeda was thought to have established bases in the Hamrin mountains as early as April 2007, and reports that former al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi hid in these mountains surfaced as early as February 2006.

Diyala

In Diyala, the fight against al Qaeda and allied insurgent groups has moved beyond the provincial capital of Baqubah. A joint U.S. and Iraqi army operation, dubbed Operation Ithaca, is targeting al Qaeda cells in the villages of Haimer, Abu Nasim, and Jamil. Twenty-nine al Qaeda were killed and 23 captured during Ithaca, while a safe house was destroyed and eight hostages freed.

South of Baqubah, U.S. forces killed six "armed terrorists" while targeting a "weapons dealer linked to the foreign terrorist network in Samarra."

Anbar