Iraqi, US forces battle insurgents in Baghdad Sunni bastions(Haifa Street)

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) - A steady barrage of machine gun fire and mortars echoed across Baghdad Wednesday as Iraqi and US forces battled insurgents in the capital's two Sunni bastions.

Iraqi forces covered by US Apache helicopter gunships took on insurgents in central Baghdad's Haifa Street and Al-Fadel districts in a raging battle that started early in the day.

Iraqi security officials said US helicopters were also reported to have fired on insurgents.

There were no reports of any casualties.

Haifa Street lies within two kilometres (just over a mile) of the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government and US embassy.

more;http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/breakingnews/view.asp?msgID=13188

Joint U.S. and Iraqi forces launched battle operations in central Baghdad
From CNN's Arwa Damon

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Gunfire, explosions and the whirl of helicopters were heard in central Baghdad Wednesday as U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militants along Haifa street -- a stronghold of the Sunni insurgency.

U.S. fighter jets could be seen flying high above the Iraqi capital, CNN's Arwa Damon reported. The sound of explosions could be heard at the network's Baghdad bureau.

The Iraqi Ministry of Defense told CNN operations were being conducted on Haifa street but gave no further details.

more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01/23/tuesday/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[Kagemusha]

1. I saw where these strongholds are on a map of Bagdhad recently.

If they were ethnically cleansed, the Shiites would hold contiguous territory throughout much of Bagdhad.

I can see how defeating them is a high priority for "Iraqi and US forces".

[magellan]

2. Deja vu, US/Iraqi forces did this same mission two weeks ago

U.S. forces join Iraqis in 10-hour Baghdad battle - CNN.com

"BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- About 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops battled insurgents Tuesday in the heart of Baghdad in some of the fiercest fighting the Iraqi capital has seen in months.

Pinned down on a Baghdad rooftop by insurgent fire, U.S. troops crouched to avoid bullets ricocheting off walls, their every breath a thin mist in the cold.

Helicopters droned overhead, sending off Hellfire missiles at insurgent positions. Fighter jets patrolled the skies.

Thunderous explosions rattled buildings, the salient signatures of both U.S. missiles and insurgent mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

It was some of the most intense fighting of the nearly four-year-old war, a 10-hour-long firefight involving almost 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops along Haifa Street in central Baghdad, a stronghold of the Sunni insurgency."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/09/iraq.main/index.html

[maddezmom]

4. deja vu part 3

As American and Iraqi forces try (again) to take control of central Baghdad, they find ominous pointers of sectarian problems to come.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16600849/site/newsweek/

[magellan]

7. Oh, I said as much last week!

The operation in Haifa Street gives a glimpse of what that could look like: U.S. forces teaming up with the Iraqi Army to go after Sunnis, while the Shiite militias stand by and wait for the shooting to stop. Of particular concern is the Mahdi Army (also known as JAM), the militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. "JAM is sitting on the 50-yard line eating popcorn, watching us do their work for them—the Iraqi Army, the police, the U.S.," says Duke. "If you're a Sunni, you got to feel pretty besieged."

Not that it's so clear-cut. JAM elements are being captured as well, but it remains to be seen if they're anything more than agitators Sadr's happy to be rid of.

The Sunnis really are getting the brunt of this, and I'm sure Maliki isn't worried about radicalizing as many as possible with military actions. It's a surefire way to further marginalize their minority stake in the government.

[maddezmom]

3. oh boy they named this one: Operation Tomahawk Strike 11 on Haifa Street

U.S. military Apache helicopter flies as smoke rises over the area where U.S. and Iraqi troops clashed with gunmen in a Sunni insurgent stronghold north of the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday Jan. 24, 2007. The U.S. military said Iraqi army and American soldiers had launched targeted raids to clear the area of militants in an operation dubbed Tomahawk Strike 11. (AP Photo/Samir Mizban)


BAGHDAD (AFP) - A steady barrage of machine-gun fire and mortars was thundering across Baghdad as Iraqi and US forces battled insurgents in one of the capital's Sunni bastions.

Iraqi and US troops with air support from US Apache helicopter gunships fought insurgents in central Baghdad's Haifa Street district in a raging battle that began early in the day.

The US military said Iraqi and US soldiers had launched "Operation Tomahawk Strike 11 on Haifa Street, conducting targeted raids to disrupt illegal militia activity and help restore Iraq security force control in the area".

After a lull that lasted more than an hour, sporadic mortar fire resumed in the area along with occasional automatic weapons fire, as US combat helicopters patrolled overhead.

Iraqi security officials said US aircraft were also reported to have fired on insurgents.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070124/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestusbattle_070124093948

[maddezmom]

5. honest headline from Reuters: U.S.-led troops clash with gunmen in central Baghdad

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces clashed with gunmen in a Sunni insurgent stronghold in central Baghdad on Wednesday, a day after President George W. Bush told the U.S. Congress failure in Iraq was not an option.

"There is a fight going on. Units are engaged," U.S. military spokesman Major Steven Lamb told Reuters, confirming that an operation had been launched to "restore security."

~snip~

Lamb said Wednesday's operation involved U.S. forces and the Iraqi police and army. He could not give details of the fighting or the number of troops involved but said seven people had been detained.

"This is a pre-planned operation to restore security in the Haifa Street area," he said.

Two residents told Reuters they had seen a large armored force of U.S. and Iraqi troops enter Haifa Street, which is close to the Iraqi government's heavily guarded Green Zone compound, at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT).

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070124/wl_nm/iraq_dc

[maddezmom]

6. CNNI reporting US military launched missiles from 50km away to level a building

after Apache helicopters couldn't get a "bead" on the building that was "housing insurgents".

[magellan]

8. There are civilians living on this street, aren't there?

And probably cringing in fear in the same building. Good god will we never learn? :cry:

[annabanana]

9. (I worry for Riverbend). . . . .n/t

[maddezmom]

10. Reuters:U.S. helicopters strike high-rises in Baghdad(37 wounded including women and children)

~snip~

A local journalist said he helped transport 37 wounded people to hospital, including women and children, in three ambulances that managed to get through the security cordon.

~snip~


In Wednesday's Haifa Street operation, the U.S. military said "direct, indirect and air support fire assets were used in support of troops in contact from high rise buildings".

Two residents told Reuters they saw a large armored force of U.S. and Iraqi troops enter Haifa Street at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT). They said the shooting had died down by late afternoon.

The Muslim Scholars Association, a leading Sunni clerics group, condemned the raid as part of "a campaign of genocide" against Sunnis and said a number of buildings had been damaged and people killed.

more;http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-01-24T154423Z_01_PAR045463_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml&pageNumber=2&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2

[maddezmom]

11. U.S., Iraqi forces kill 30 in Baghdad battle: TV

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 30 suspected insurgents and detained 35 more during gunbattles in a Sunni Arab insurgent stronghold in central Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraqiya state television said, citing the defense ministry.

The U.S. military said earlier the operation was aimed at clearing insurgents from the Haifa Street area, which runs along the west bank of the Tigris river in the heart of Baghdad. Gunbattles raged for much of the day as troops backed by helicopters and armored vehicles clashed with gunmen in high- rise buildings in the area.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyid=2007-01-24T154837Z_01_PAR456606_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-L1-RelatedNews-1

[Eugene]

12. U.S. soldier killed in Central Baghdad

(MNF Iraq)

Insurgent attack targets MND-B Soldiers
Wednesday, 24 January 2007
Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20070124-07
Jan. 24, 2007

Insurgent attack targets MND-B Soldiers
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO

BAGHDAD – Insurgent small arms fire targeting a Multi-National Division – Baghdad
patrol killed one Soldier near the city’s center Jan. 24.

The unit was participating in a combined security operation in the area, aimed at
disrupting and isolating militia activity when they came under small arms fire.
One Soldier was killed, two others were wounded.

Soldiers from this unit have successfully conducted numerous clearing and security
missions in this area of the Iraqi capital. Helping to clear these neighborhoods
of illegal insurgent activity contributes to the successful transition of security
to Iraqi security forces and provides safer living conditions for the Iraqi people.

The deceased Soldier’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9435&Itemid=128

(Reuters)

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Jan 24
24 Jan 2007 16:26:26 GMT
Source: Reuters

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 1600 GMT
on Wednesday:

* Asterisk denotes new or updated item.

-snip-

* BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier was killed by small arms fire in central Baghdad, the U.S.
military said. It was not immediately clear if the soldier was killed in the Haifa
Street operation. A U.S. statement said the soldier had been "participating in a
combined security operation in the area, aimed at disrupting and isolating militia
activity". It said two other soldiers were wounded.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24255120.htm

[Up2Late]

13. Related Story: (NYT/IHT) In a new joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol, Americans go first

(It sure doesn't sound like the Iraqi forces are "Ready to take the lead..." to me.) :mad:

In a new joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol, Americans go first

By Damien Cave and James Glanz
Published: January 24, 2007

BAGHDAD: In the battle for Baghdad, Haifa Street has changed hands so often that it has taken on the feel of a no man's land, the deadly space between opposing trenches. On Wednesday, as American and Iraqi troops poured in, the street showed why it is such a sensitive gauge of an urban conflict marked by front lines that melt into confusion, enemies with no clear identity and allies who disappear or do not show up at all.

In a miniature version of the troop increase that the United States hopes will secure the city, American soldiers and armored vehicles raced onto Haifa Street before dawn to dislodge Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias who have been battling for a stretch of ragged slums and mostly abandoned high rises. But as the sun rose, many of the Iraqi Army units who were supposed to do the actual searches of the buildings did not arrive on time, forcing the Americans to start the job on their own.

When the Iraqi units finally did show up, it was with the air of a class outing, cheering and laughing as the Americans blew locks off doors with shotguns. As the morning wore on and the troops came under fire from all directions, another apparent flaw in this strategy became clear as empty apartments became lairs for gunmen who flitted from window to window and killed at least one American soldier, with a shot to the head.

Whether the gunfire was coming from Sunni or Shiite insurgents or militia fighters or some of the Iraqi soldiers who had disappeared into the Gotham-like cityscape, no one could say. "Who the hell is shooting at us?" shouted Sgt. First Class Marc Biletski, whose platoon was jammed into a small room off an alley that was being swept by a sniper's bullets. "Who's shooting at us? Do we know who they are?"...

(more at link) <http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/25/africa/web.0125haifa.php>

[maddezmom]

14. how in the hell are more US troops going to help?

Are they going to go wake up the Iraqi troops and escort them to work each day? God what a clusterfuc*

[brooklynite]

15. I'd say this segment pretty much captures it...

“Who the hell is shooting at us?” shouted Sgt. First Class Marc Biletski, whose platoon was jammed into a small room off an alley that was being swept by a sniper’s bullets. “Who’s shooting at us? Do we know who they are?”

Just before the platoon tossed smoke bombs and sprinted through the alley to a more secure position, Sergeant Biletski had a moment to reflect on this spot, which the United States has now fought to regain from a mysterious enemy at least three times in the past two years.

“This place is a failure,” Sergeant Biletski said. “Every time we come here, we have to come back.”

[RamboLiberal]

16. Add to this debacle Iraqi soldier pointed gun at reporter pulled trigger

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003537837

<snip>

"One Iraqi soldier in the alley pointed his rifle at an American reporter and pulled the trigger. There was only a click: the weapon had no ammunition. The soldier laughed at his joke."

It's not known which of two Times reporters was the target of this "joke."

We've been reading these stories of what a joke the Iraqi army and police are for over a year now - get out, cause if they haven't stepped up by now and become at least some sembelance of an army it isn't going to happen! I was pissed a couple of weeks ago when a weekend news report showed them having a big celebration and playing dress up in early 20th century British-inspired red uniforms celebrating anniversary of the grand Iraqi Army! Felt like it was a slap in the face.

[question everything]

17. Is Haifa Street in Baghdad called after the city of Haifa

in Israel? The one that was shelled during the summer?