US, Iraqi forces launch anti-al-Qaida offensive

By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – U.S. and Iraqi forces have begun a new military offensive in northern Iraq aimed at rooting out al-Qaida and other Sunni insurgents, American and Iraqi officials said Sunday.

The offensive — dubbed Operation New Hope — has netted 84 suspects in the provincial capital of Mosul and surrounding towns, said Iraqi Brig. Gen. Saeed Ahmed al-Jubouri. Most of the arrests occurred in Tal Abta, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Mosul.

Claims by Sunni Arabs and Kurds over disputed territory in the northern Ninevah province have fueled significant violence in the area around Mosul, which U.S. officials have called Iraq's last major urban battleground in the war against insurgents.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have staged many operations in Mosul and other areas north of Baghdad where levels of violence remain high even as they have significantly dropped elsewhere in the country.

The offensive comes more than a year after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki promised a "decisive" battle in Mosul against al-Qaida in Iraq.

But Iraq's third-largest city has continued to face violence, particularly against Iraqi security forces.

A roadside bomb struck an Iraq army patrol Sunday in Mosul, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant, and wounding three others, said a police official at the Nineveh military command center. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

Five other soldiers were killed and five were wounded when they stormed a booby-trapped house in the city late Saturday, al-Jubouri said.

The U.S. military said in a statement that the aim of the joint operation was to allow the government to restore essential services in Mosul.

"The ultimate goal of this operation is to eradicate al-Qaida and other extremist groups," it said.

Al-Jubouri said American troops were only providing support, if needed. He said the operation was being led by Iraqi security forces, and that all police and army units in the province were participating in the operation.