Articles 11.21.2005

The Stars & Stripes has an article on operations in Ramadi, including Operation Bruins. Several quotes:
- "U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched "disruption operations" in northern Ramadi, seeking to dislodge insurgents in one of the most heavily entrenched cities in Anbar province. Some 150 Iraqi soldiers and 300 Marines and soldiers assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Marine Division launched Operation Bruins late Saturday, officials said. The operation is "part of a series of disruption operations in Ramadi and is designed to set the conditions for successful elections in December."
- "But U.S. officials said Operation Bruins was part of a larger string, including Operation Panthers, which targeted the Sophia district of eastern Ramadi. Bruins also follows a Nov. 17 incident, not reported at the time, in which U.S. forces fended off an attack and said they killed 32 insurgents in a downtown battle. While violence flares in the city, U.S. officials say attacks against Iraqi and U.S. troops in the city have decreased 60 percent over the past month."