Iraq launches new assault against Qaeda fighters

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

BAQUBA, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi forces backed by US troops launched a major assault on Tuesday against rebels in the province of Diyala, an Al-Qaeda stronghold and one of the most dangerous places in the country.

"The operation began in Diyala early this morning and we have begun raids in some neighbourhoods of the city of Baquba," said Ragib al-Omeiri, chief of the operations bureau in Baquba.

"Iraqi police and the Iraqi army are working together with the US army," he told AFP.

In early sweeps that aim to clear out the Sunni Al-Qaeda bastion in the northeast of the country, Iraqi troops netted 13 suspected insurgents, said Ali Gedan, chief commander of the Diyala operation.

The offensive follows similar Iraqi military operations in the southern provinces...