BAGHDAD — Iraqi and U.S. troops have launched a major
counter-insurgency operation near Syria.
Officials said Operation Koa Canyon has sought to capture or kill Sunni
insurgents in the western Euphrates River Valley in the Anbar province. They
said the operation, which began on Jan. 15. includes 1,000 U.S. soldiers
and 300 Iraqi troops.
The Iraq Army contributed its 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi
Division to the mission, Middle East Newsline reported. The Iraqi unit has been operating with the U.S.
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Officials said U.S. Marines were working with Iraqi police in the
Baghdadi region of Anbar. They said most of the troops were conducting
cordon-and-knock operations and searching for weapons and insurgents along
the Euphrates River, about 130 kilometers northwest of Baghdad.
The operation was part of a U.S.-led effort to accelerate the handover
of security responsibility to the Iraq Army. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim
Jaafari has already agreed to replace U.S. troops in the Anbar capital of
Ramadi with Iraqi units.
Officials said Jaafari, U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and local
tribes reached an agreement on Jan. 15 for a U.S. handover of security
responsibility in Ramadi. They said the tribes pledged to help battle Al
Qaida and other foreign insurgents in the Ramadi area.
Al Qaida network chief Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi was said to maintain a
major presence around Ramadi and other areas of Anbar. Officials said that
under the agreement the tribes would be prevented from cooperating with Al
Zarqawi fighters.
The Iraqi military and security forces have risen to more than 227,000
troops. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, told
a briefing on Thursday that an Iraq Army division, eight brigades and 37
battalions have assumed the lead in operations in their areas.
In contrast, Lynch said, four Iraqi brigades and 11 battalions led
operations in June 2005. The general said that by the summer of 2006, 75
percent of Iraq Army brigades would take the lead in operations.
By the fall of 2006, 80 percent of Iraqi divisions would lead in their
areas, Lynch said. He said that in December 2005, Iraqi forces conducted 550
independent operations throughout Iraq.
"We're making progress with the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi
government in the growth of those forces, which are so important for the end
state — security forces that can maintain domestic order and deny Iraq as a
safe haven for terrorists," Lynch said.