BAGHDAD — Iraqi and U.S. troops have launched a major operation in
the troubled Diyala province that focuses on key insurgents.
Iraqi and U.S. combat units began an open-ended operation to search for
Al Qaida and aligned insurgents in the area northeast of Baghdad, Middle East Newsline reported. The
operation, launched on Wednesday, was designed to search for leading
insurgents, including the financier of attacks in Diyala.
Officials said the target of the operation was Rashid Kazem. They said
Kazem, a former Saddam Hussein aide, was deemed the leading insurgency
financier in Diyala and ranked No. 6 on the government's list of the top 41
fugitives.
Kazem was said to have served as chairman of the deposed Baath Party in
Anbar, the largest province in Iraq. The United States has offered $1
million for information that would lead to his capture.
Officials said U.S. and Iraqi troops encountered major resistance around
the Diyala town of Maqdadiya. There were no reports of casualties.
The U.S. Army has also been operating south of Baghdad. In Qarbawi, U.S.
and Iraqi troops captured 14 Al Qaida operatives and killed a leading cell
member, identified only as "Thamer."
The U.S.-led coalition has been targeting Al Qaida strongholds since the
killing of Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi near Baqubah on June 7. The military said a
senior Al Qaida member and four of his associates were captured in an
operation in Tikrit.
"The raid successfully targeted a senior Al Qaida member known to be
involved in facilitating entry of foreign terrorists throughout central
Iraq," the U.S. statement said. "The targeted individual reportedly replaced
the former leader of this cell."
