American and Iraqi troops continued their sweep through a 100-square-mile area north of Baghdad on Friday in an attempt to destroy resistance elements, the U.S. military said. No resistance or casualties were reported. The US army described the operation as the "biggest air assault" in three years.
The sweep was aimed particularly at capturing two local leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq, said a police official. According to the AP, the raid uncovered six weapons caches, the U.S. military spokesman said.
In Baghdad, gunmen killed three people and wounded five in Sunni areas of the city, police reported. All in all, at least seven people were reported killed in scattered violence in and near Baghdad.
