Iraqi rebels caught by U.S. forces
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, December 23, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. soldiers arrested dozens of rebel suspects including several associates of a former aide to Saddam Hussein who is believed to have a leading role in Iraq’s insurgency. Early today, explosions rocked Baghdad as the U.S. military conducted an anti-rebel operation.
American commanders have said they had planned operations over the Christmas period after receiving intelligence that there might be rebel attacks. Asked about the repeated explosions south of the city center, a military spokeswoman said that operations, including "aerial activity and artillery," were under way.
A U.S. task force in Baqouba, 30 miles northwest of Baghdad, arrested five Iraqis on Tuesday, including one suspected of recruiting guerrillas, said Maj. Josselyn Aberle of the 4th Infantry Division.
Two other military sources said the other four were believed to be associates of former Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the top remaining figure from the U.S. list of 55 most wanted Iraqis. U.S. commanders say he could be organizing anti-American resistance. Thirteen fugitives from the list remain at large, with al-Douri at No. 6 in the original ranking.
In an earlier raid in Baqouba, U.S. troops detained a former Iraqi army colonel suspected of recruiting ex-Iraqi soldiers to fight the U.S. military. Aberle said the ex-colonel was believed to be connected to a local businessman helping to finance the insurgency.
The former officer "is a midlevel in the national scheme, but quite important in the area," the major said.
Another task force in the area arrested two Iraqis discovered digging up a cache of 100 82mm mortar rounds and 20 rockets, Aberle said.
Near Fallujah, to the west of Baghdad, a military statement said troops captured "26 enemy personnel, including two former Iraqi generals and an Iraqi Special Forces colonel."
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