That's the name of the ongoing combined push against al-Q in Mosul. The Iraqi troops stepped up their OPTEMPO against the terrs and they responded in typical fashion -- they lifted another page from the VC Playbook.
Baghdad/Mosul, 15 May 2008 (Gulf News)Spokesmen for both the US and Iraqi military have confirmed that a girl strapped with explosives was the cause of a blast that killed an Iraqi captain and injured four soldiers south of Baghdad. Iraqi Army Lt Ahmad Ali said the explosives were detonated yesterday as the girl approached the Iraqi commander in Youssifiyah.
Ali said from the scene that "the bomb was detonated by remote control, killing Capt Wassem Al Maamouri and injuring four soldiers."
He said authorities imposed a curfew and American troops are searching for those responsible.
The girl was eight years old.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki ordered a new assault on Al Qaida in the main northern city of Mosul yesterday, the jihadists' last urban bastion in Iraq according to US commanders.Al Maliki travelled to Mosul with top aides to take command of the US-backed drive against Al Qaida in the province, defence ministry spokesman Maj Gen Abdul Kareem Khalaf said.
"Operation Umm Al Rabiain (Mother of Two Springs) has just started against those threatening the civilian population and attacking Iraqi forces in Mosul," defence ministry spokesman Khalaf told AFP.
"This operation is targeting terrorists and criminals," he said, alluding to Al Qaida, which has been accused of a string of major attacks across Nineveh province of which Mosul is the capital.
Maliki is Boots On The Ground up here -- he just lifted the curfew that's been in effect for the past few weeks. *That* tells me
a. the commanders know where the nests are and
b. they're confident they've got a good handle on terr exfiltration into the civilian population.
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