Swarmer Continues, Brings Backlash
U.S. Military Operation Detains Dozens, Iraqis Question Necessity
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An Iraqi army soldier frisks a Shiite pilgrim, in Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 18, 2006. Tens of thousands of devout Shiites are converging on Karbala for March 20, 2006, celebration of Arbaeen, marking the end of the 40-day mourning period after the date of the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. (AP)
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An Iraqi Shiite woman weeps as she flagellates herself while heading toward the holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad on March 17, 2006. (AFP Photo)
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In this hand out photo released by U.S. military, Iraqi Army Soldiers of the 4th Iraqi Army Division exit a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in support of Operation Swarmer in Samarra, Iraq, Thursday, March 16, 2006. (AP)
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U.S. and Iraqi forces launch an air assault, March 16, 2006. (U.S. Military)
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An air assault by U.S. and Iraqi forces, March 16, 2006. (U.S. Military)
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The three-day-old sweep through villages 60 miles north of Baghdad – named Operation Swarmer – was prompting growing unease among leading Sunnis. One called it a needless “escalation” at a time of difficult negotiations over Iraq's future government.
U.S. officials have said Swarmer is a sign of how much progress has been made in Iraq because of the participation of the Iraqi army.
Lt. Gen. Pete Chiarelli told CBS News national security correspondent David Martin, "Had we tried to accomplish a mission like this 11 months ago, it would have been primarily U.S. forces."
The Iraqi forces are getting stronger, not only in numbers, but in skills, reports CBS News correspondent Lara Logan.
Captain Jonathan Weikel said that the biggest change he noticed when he returned to Iraq on his second tour was how much the Iraqi security forces had improved.
"I would like them to be farther along than they are, that would be great to feel that way, but it's been good to see the improvement."
Iraqi troops and units of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division detained about 80 suspected insurgents as of Saturday, and released 17 of them after questioning, said Lt. Col. Edward S. Loomis, a 101st Airborne spokesman.
Among those detained were six people, not further identified, allegedly responsible for the killing on March 11 of Amjad Hameed, a journalist for the television network al-Iraqiya, and his driver, the interim Iraqi government said.
In a belated report, the U.S. military said two 101st Airborne Division soldiers were killed on Thursday by indirect fire — usually meaning mortars — at the U.S. Speicher operating base farther north up the Tigris. The deaths, which Loomis said were not directly related to the sweep, were the second and third of division soldiers on the day Operation Swarmer began.
At least 2,314 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war on March 20, 2003.
In other recent developments:
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