Articles 2.20.2005

Reuters reports in a long article that American and Iraqi troops launched Operation River Blitz in Ramadi on Sunday, "part of a nationwide effort to restore order after last month's election." The joint force "set up checkpoints and imposed an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew", and the article said " It was not clear if the troops of the 1st Marine expeditionary force and Iraqi soldiers...would carry out a larger offensive on Ramadi". U.S. officials said in a statement that "Operation River Blitz is designed to target insurgents and terrorists who have attempted to destabilize the Anbar province by terrorizing the populace through wanton acts of violence and intimidation." The larger "operation would involve more intense patrols in towns and cities along the [Euphrates] river, including Hit and Haditha, sites of frequent guerrilla attacks," with the larger objectives being to disrupt insurgents as well as their expected supply lines from Syria.

The Associated Press quoted the statement as also saying ""Access control points leading into the city will screen vehicles for terrorists and insurgents as well as weapons, munitions and materials to produce improvised-explosive devices."
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Other articles from the region:
- Associated Press: Iraqi Shiites Hope to Avoid More Attacks
- Washington Post (reg req'd): U.S. Feeling Pressure To Rebuild Fallujah