By Xinhua
Baghdad : The U.S. military said Wednesday that a new round of offensive against al-Qaida and other extremists in northern Iraq has encountered little resistance.
The U.S.-Iraqi joint forces Tuesday unveiled a new military operation dubbed “Phantom Phoenix,” which is designed to make the current security gains sustainable.
Major General Michael Hertling, commander of coalition forces in northern Iraq, said 24,000 U.S. troops and 50,000 Iraqi army soldiers were participating in Operation Iron Harvest in four provinces north of Baghdad — Diyala, Salahudin, Nineveh and Kirkuk which is part of “Phantom Phoenix.”
Hertling said that 20 to 30 militants had been killed since the beginning of the operation, adding that the militants seemed to have fled the Diyala province, a stronghold of al-Qaida.
The latest operation was launched as the violence has dropped dramatically by about 60 percent since June. The U.S. military attributes the security turnaround to a surge of troops, the truce of a major anti-U.S. militia force and the uprising of Sunni Iraqis against al-Qaida.
Phantom Phoenix will synchronize lethal and non-lethal effects to exploit recent security gains and disrupt terrorist support zones and enemy command and control, the U.S. military said Tuesday.
The non-lethal aspects of this operation are designed to improve delivery of essential services, economic development and local governance capacity.
In spite of the ebb of violence, the U.S. military warned that al-Qaida is still capable of launching “spectacular” attacks in Iraq.
Also on Wednesday, car bombings targeted two churches in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, but caused no casualties.
The incidents came after multiple Christian properties were attacked on Sunday in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul.