US, Iraqi troops target insurgents in western region

BAGHDAD -- US and Iraqi troops launched an operation in western Iraq to clear insurgents from a suspected safe area used to make car and roadside bombs, the military said yesterday.

The campaign occurred as President Bush defended his Iraq policy in a major speech, saying more Iraqi security forces are increasingly taking the lead in battle but that ''this will take time and patience."

About 1,500 US Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 500 US soldiers, and 500 Iraqi soldiers were taking part in Operation Iron Hammer near Hit, 85 miles west of Baghdad, a US Marine statement said. The forces would concentrate efforts in the Hai Al Becker region, where US and Iraqi troops rarely patrol, it added.

''The Hai Al Becker region is suspected to be an Al Qaeda in Iraq safe area and base of operations for the manufacture of vehicle car bombs, roadside bombs," the military said.

It added that the area is believed to be a stopping point for insurgents traveling down the Euphrates River from Syria into Iraq.

Meanwhile, in the central town of Baqubah, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a minibus early yesterday, killing nine construction workers and wounding two, police said.

Six Iranian pilgrims were seized Tuesday near a Shi'ite religious shrine north of Baghdad, police said. Iranian state TV said Tuesday that all six were released, but it contradicted that report yesterday, saying that only two of the six Iranians were freed. Both of the freed hostages were women, while four men remain captive.

The latest attacks are part of a new wave of kidnappings police fear is aimed at disrupting the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.

Iraq was swept by a wave of kidnappings and beheadings of foreigners in 2004 and early 2005, but such attacks have dropped off in recent months as many Western groups have left and security precautions for those who remain have tightened.

Insurgents, including Al Qaeda in Iraq, have seized more than 225 people, killing at least 38.

It was unclear whether the recent kidnappings were the work of a single group or simply coincidental. However, police believed they may be part of an insurgent campaign to discredit the government and disrupt the elections.

''Terrorists will try to destabilize the situation during the election period" in order to discourage people from voting, police Major Falah Mohammedawi said.

US and Iraqi officials hope a big turnout in the election will undermine the insurgency and improve chances for the United States and its partners to begin reducing troop levels in Iraq next year.