Some 8,000 American troops launched a fresh operation on Monday targeting al Qaeda fighters in farmland south of Baghdad, the military said. The operation, called Marne Avalanche, is aimed at stopping the flow of weapons and fighters into the southern part of the capital, where U.S. and Iraqi forces are already fighting hard to clear them out, the military said in a statement, cited by Reuters.
In pre-dawn raids, helicopter-borne troops swept into an area the U.S. military said was an al Qaeda safe haven around the Euphrates river valley, 35 km south of Baghdad. The terrain has been the location of fierce fighting between American troops and militants in the past and at least one air strike was called in during the early hours of the operation, a spokeswoman conveyed.
Tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces are currently engaged in a series of security operations in and around Baghdad to thwart sectarian violence.
