By NNN-KUNA,
Baghdad : The head of military operations in the northern zone of Iraq Major General Mark Hertling has said that a new security operation dubbed “Basha’er Al-Khair” in Diyala will be launched in the beginning of next month.
Hertling told a news conference Sunday that significant attacks were down 75 per cent in June with 650 incidents that month, compared to 2,600 in June 2007.
The US commander noted that the new military operations in Diayala province will be in the hand of Iraqi forces, adding that the Iraqi military ground forces commander has been in Baquoba in the past two weeks, and held several meetings with the “Sahwa” (Awakening) forces.
Next month, Iraqi and US forces are preparing to go after the Al Qaeda in Diyala while operations in the Mosul area will continue, Hertling said.
He also said that in Diyala, the Al Qaeda has been pushed to the rural areas of the province where they have sought refuge after fleeing the cities.
The US military commander noted that threats still exist and the fight against insurgents continues.
In the first part of the year, 250 Iraqis were killed in his area of operations from suicide bombers while another 1,500 were killed by car bombs, Hertling added.