Iraq forces target insurgents
US and Iraqi forces are operating in the volatile Diyala province of Iraq in a new operation aimed at clearing al-Qaida from safehavens.
New checkpoints were erected across the province and authorities ordered a ban on unofficial traffic as search operations got under way in the provincial capital of Baqouba and surrounding areas, according to witnesses.
Many residents said they were afraid to leave their houses.
The US-backed Iraqi military is hoping to build on recent security gains from similar offensives against Sunni insurgents in the northern city of Mosul and Shiite militiamen in Baghdad and the southern cities of Basra and Amarah.
The troops were focusing on chasing al-Qaida and other insurgents, who have sought refuge in Diyala to escape earlier crackdowns, said General Ali Ghaidan, the commander of Iraqi ground forces in the province.
The province, which sits to the north of the capital and borders Iran, has been one of the hardest areas to control since the US-led war began in March 2003. Baqouba, the provincial capital, was hit by twin suicide bombings that killed at least 28 people on July 15 and has seen a number of female suicide attacks.
"The goal of the operation is to seek out and destroy criminal elements and terrorist threats in Diyala and eliminate smuggling corridors in the surrounding area," the US military said in a statement.
The military said it was an Iraqi-led operation, stressing the point as the Iraqi government is seeking to assert more control over military operations.
"We applaud the Iraqis' growing ability to lead, plan and execute complex combat, policy and humanitarian operations and we look forward to reducing our support footprint as security conditions on the ground permit," the statement said.
The religiously mixed area is strategic because it contains key supply routes to Baghdad and northern cities that need to be controlled to ensure security.
