Baghdad, Iraq – U.S. troops clashed throughout the day with insurgents west of Baghdad, and Iraqi police launched a new raid in a Sunni Arab-dominated part of the capital, despite Sunni calls to halt such operations during talks to form a new government.
The clashes west of Baghdad occurred in Ramadi, capital of the insurgent-ridden Anbar province, and began when gunmen fired at least five rocket-propelled grenade rounds and rifles at U.S. Army soldiers, a military spokesman said.
“The soldiers returned fire and called in a jet nearby to attack the insurgents’ position with their main gun,” Marine Capt. Jeffrey Pool said. Two insurgents were killed, but there were no U.S. casualties, he said.
U.S. troops later called in an airstrike against insurgents holed up at the Ramadi sports stadium, raising a column of smoke, residents said. Two civilians were injured when mortar shells exploded near the provincial office building and one woman was killed by small-arms fire, they added.
In Baghdad, Iraqi Interior Ministry commandos searched the notorious Dora neighborhood, a largely Sunni Arab district and scene of frequent bombings and killings. More than 80 suspects were arrested, including eight Sudanese, four Egyptians, a Tunisian and Lebanese, according to Maj. Faleh al-Mohammedawi.
The raid occurred despite calls by Sunni Arab politicians for a halt to such operations as the country’s Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians are discussing formation of a new national unity government, which U.S. officials hope can win the trust of the Sunni Arab community – the backbone of the insurgency.
Sunni Arabs have accused the Shiite-led Interior Ministry forces of abuses against Sunnis. Ministry officials insist the raids are necessary to combat insurgents.
Iraqi police and soldiers, most of them Shiites, are frequent targets of Sunni insurgents.
In the latest attacks, a suicide car bomber slammed into a commando headquarters where police were training in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, killing one policeman and wounding more than 30, police reported.
