ISF, MNF Launch Major Offensive South Of Baghdad
Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq -- The Iraqi SWAT team, backed by elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, swept through the south-central Iraqi town of Jabella today, kicking off a fresh campaign in northern Babil province aimed at rooting out anti-Iraqi forces still reeling from their decisive defeat in Fallujah.
The joint Iraqi-U.S. force captured 32 suspected insurgents, including a number of high-interest individuals, in a series of early-morning raids some 50 miles south of Baghdad. Jabella is among several cities and towns in the province that Multi-National Forces are determined to return to the Iraqi people.
The latest offensive, dubbed Operation Plymouth Rock, involves more than 5,000 Iraqi, U.S. and British forces and follows the swift seizure of the restive city of Fallujah, where terrorists and insurgents suffered significant losses and the elimination of a key sanctuary.
As Iraqi Security Forces and their U.S. allies began liberating Fallujah earlier this month, anti-Iraqi activity intensified in northern Babil. Insurgent attacks rose in an apparent effort to divert attention from the high-profile battle west of Baghdad.
ISF and Marines have maintained their own pressure, rounding up insurgents in daily raids, house-to-house searches and random vehicle checkpoints. They've been aided by a British armored battlegroup -- the 1st Battalion of the Black Watch Regiment -- brought north from Basra to squeeze militants attempting to run the "rat lines" between northern Babil and Baghdad and al Anbar provinces.
Through patience and persistence, ISF and Multi-National Forces continue to make steady gains in their campaign to restore security and stability to the area.
In the past three weeks, ISF and Marines have rounded up nearly 250 insurgents. Since the joint force began operating together in mid-August, more than 600 anti-Iraqi elements have been taken out of action.
As the Iraqi people prepare to vote in nationwide elections in January, Multi-National Forces are determined to capture or kill those who desire to destabilize the elections process and those who violently oppose a free and democratic Iraq.
Release #041123c
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