Baghdad, Iraq – Iraq announced plans Thursday to deploy 40,000 police and soldiers in the capital and ring the city with hundreds of checkpoints “like a bracelet” in the largest show of Iraqi force since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
In a reminder of the difficulty Iraqi security forces face in stopping insurgent attacks, violence claimed at least 15 lives Thursday in Baghdad including a car bomb that exploded near a police patrol, killing five people and wounding 17.
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told a small group of Western reporters that next week’s planned crackdown, dubbed Operation Lightning, was designed “to restore the initiative to the government.”
Insurgents have killed more than 620 people since his government was announced on April 28.
“We will establish, with God’s help, an impenetrable blockade surrounding Baghdad like a bracelet surrounds a wrist,” Defense Minister Saadoun al-Duleimi said.
Iraqi authorities did not say how long the crackdown would last, and it was uncertain whether the Iraq forces are capable of mounting a sustained operation.
Iraq currently has 89,400 security personnel attached to the Ministry of Interior, according to the U.S. military. This includes police, highway patrol and some commando units, although the figure may include some who have deserted.
American forces will back the Iraqis with logistical aid and air cover during Operation Lightning, according to the U.S. military.
Such operations, especially those preceded by public announcement, are a double-edge sword, said Hazim Ali, a political analyst at Baghdad University’s International Studies Center. If the Iraqi security forces are successful in weeding out insurgents without rounding up too many innocent civilians, Ali said, it could be a turning point in how they are viewed by Iraqis – many, especially in the Sunni community, see them as incompetent thugs working for the Americans.
A successful mission would also demonstrate an ability to operate as a large, cohesive unit, instead of working as individual platoon-sized elements, a key step toward the Iraqis’ being able to take over counterinsurgency operations, many experts say.
But should the offensive fail to stem the violence, or if Iraq troops are abusive – as they have been in the past – then the widely publicized operation could be a serious setback, Ali said.
Late Thursday, the U.S. military said a helicopter crashed north of Baghdad after coming under small arms fire.
An announcement said that two Task Force Liberty helicopters received small-arms fire while conducting operations in support of coalition forces near Baqubah, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
It said one landed safely at nearby base after sustaining damage. The other crashed and the “status of the aircrew is unknown at this time.”
Knight Ridder Newspapers contributed to this report.
