Saturday, March 24, 2007
Karrada sealed off in security crackdown
Security
(Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi troops sealed off the Karrada district in the heart of Baghdad on Saturday, stopping all vehicles and pedestrians from entering the area, which has suffered a spate of deadly car bombs in recent weeks. The Karrada operation appeared to be part of a major U.S.- backed security crackdown aimed at quelling the daily bombings and shootings that have killed thousands and sparked fears Iraq is sliding into full-scale civil war.
While the crackdown has succeeded in reducing the number of sectarian shootings car bombs remain a major problem and U.S. officials say they are devoting more resources to curbing them. In the volatile southern Baghdad district of Dora, a suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives attacked a police station. Gunmen also attacked army checkpoints in Hay al-Jamiya, a Sunni area, in western Baghdad, on Saturday morning. Residents said they could hear the sound of intense gunfire. At least one woman was arrested in Saturday's operation in Karrada after about 20 weapons, including AK-47 rifles and belt -fed machineguns were found in her house, an Iraqi army officer said, showing Reuters plastic bags filled with the weapons.
The streets of Karrada, whose residents are mainly Shi'ite Muslims and Christians and include several top politicians, were largely empty. Convoys of Humvee armoured vehicles roamed the area, which is close to the international Green Zone. "There is an ongoing operation in the area," U.S. military spokesman Major Steven Lamb said, without elaborating. One American soldier manning a checkpoint told Reuters the operation could last several hours or several days.
While the crackdown has succeeded in reducing the number of sectarian shootings car bombs remain a major problem and U.S. officials say they are devoting more resources to curbing them. In the volatile southern Baghdad district of Dora, a suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives attacked a police station. Gunmen also attacked army checkpoints in Hay al-Jamiya, a Sunni area, in western Baghdad, on Saturday morning. Residents said they could hear the sound of intense gunfire. At least one woman was arrested in Saturday's operation in Karrada after about 20 weapons, including AK-47 rifles and belt -fed machineguns were found in her house, an Iraqi army officer said, showing Reuters plastic bags filled with the weapons.
The streets of Karrada, whose residents are mainly Shi'ite Muslims and Christians and include several top politicians, were largely empty. Convoys of Humvee armoured vehicles roamed the area, which is close to the international Green Zone. "There is an ongoing operation in the area," U.S. military spokesman Major Steven Lamb said, without elaborating. One American soldier manning a checkpoint told Reuters the operation could last several hours or several days.
Labels: car bombs, Karrada, security crackdown
