Report: U.S. begins 'major offensive' in Iraq; 'Former' insurgents part of push

Above: Soldiers with 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division sight a suspected team of insurgents during a patrol near Baqubah in May. Baqubah is capital of Diyala province, a longtime haven of insurgent violence which has dramatically increased since the 'crackdown' began in Baghdad, which lies to the south. The U.S. effort now includes members of the 1920 Revolution Brigade, a Sunni resistance group that is dedicated to the expulsion of U.S. forces and takes its name from the revolt that pushed out the British occupation. They have now been granted the right to patrol with U.S.-supplied uniforms and be exempt from AK-47 weapons seizures, said Lt. Col. James D. George, the acting American commander in the province.

American and Iraqi troops began major military operations north and south of Baghdad today, while deep in the south near the Iranian border, a ferocious battle between American troops and Shiite militants left at least 20 dead and wounded scores more, Iraqi and American officials.

The clashes in Amara and Majjar al-Kabir, a pair of mostly Shiite towns just north of Basra, came as troops fanned out across Iraq in what American commanders have described as a broad offensive against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia in the provinces surrounding the capital.

In Diyala province, the site of particularly vicious sectarian violence, witnesses said that Iraqi security forces moved into an area of western Baquba before dawn, encountering little armed resistance. The Iraqi forces were joined by members of the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade, who have rejected a long-standing alliance with Al Qaeda, and witnesses said the combined force was welcomed with demands from residents for more help in stopping the bloodshed and ridding Iraq of the Americans.

Read the rest at the NY Times

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