Is Iraq In Civil War?

White House Argues Progress, Iraq's Allawi Believes War Is Under Way

(CBS/AP) 
As the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion approached, American troops clashed with gunmen north and west of Baghdad Sunday, and insurgents lobbed a mortar round into Karbala, the holy city south of Baghdad where a million Shiite pilgrims assembled for a major religious commemoration.

Iraqis in the capital expressed unease with the increasing violence, which they said they hoped would have ended by now.

"It is a painful anniversary we were expecting that Iraq would get better," Munthir Rasheed said. "But it is completely in reverse. Iraq has passed through three years which are the worst in its history."

Iraqi police said eight civilians, including a child, were killed in clashes between U.S. troops and gunmen in Duluiyah, 45 miles north of Baghdad. The town is located in Iraq's Sunni heartland where the Iraqi army and U.S. forces opened Operation Swarmer last week, an airborne campaign to hunt down insurgents.

The Americans said it was the largest "air assault" operation since the 2003 invasion.

During operations in Duluiyah, police said, U.S. troops arrested Col. Farouq Khalil, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official, after raiding his house.

The sweep through villages 60 miles north of Baghdad 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.