Iraqi forces launched raids Saturday into an industrial zone of Fallujah. According to the AP, the offensive into the district of factories and workshops was an apparent attempt to block armed groups from re-establishing footholds in the city.
Fallujah, some 65 kilometers west of Baghdad, was a hub for al-Qaeda in Iraq and other factions before they were mostly driven out by a Sunni tribal uprising and U.S.-led campaigns more than two years ago. The industrial zone was a center for bomb-making and rocket production.
Streets were sealed off before Iraqi police and military units swept in, said Fallujah's police chief, Col. Mahmoud al-Issawi. The police action comes two days after a suicide bomber struck an Iraqi military base in Habbaniyah near Fallujah. The blast injured at least 38 Iraqi soldiers.
In a separate operation, U.S. Marines joined Iraqi security forces in a hunt for weapons caches near Karmah village east of Fallujah, the U.S. military said.
