Professional Soldiers ® - View Single Post - Insurgents Assert Control Over Town Near Syrian Border

09-10-2005, 22:15

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissin...=1126380016000

Iraq govt says storms city, closes Syria border

By Nameer Nouredeen

TAL AFAR, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's government said it launched thousands of troops against rebels in the city of Tal Afar on Saturday and ordered the nearby border with Syria closed to stem what Baghdad calls an influx of foreign fighters.

Keen to show off the muscle of their U.S.-trained forces, ministers said other towns were in the line of fire and state television ran repetitive footage from recent days in Tal Afar of Iraqi soldiers hunting and detaining men described as rebels.

Residents reported U.S. air strikes overnight, gunfire and an encirclement of U.S. armour in parts of the town as Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari announced an offensive had begun.

"At 2 a.m. today (2300 BST), acting on my orders, Iraqi forces commenced an operation to remove all remaining terrorist elements from the city of Tal Afar," he said in a statement.

09-10-2005, 22:15	#4
ghuinness Guest Posts: n/a	http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissin...=1126380016000 Iraq govt says storms city, closes Syria border By Nameer Nouredeen TAL AFAR, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's government said it launched thousands of troops against rebels in the city of Tal Afar on Saturday and ordered the nearby border with Syria closed to stem what Baghdad calls an influx of foreign fighters. Keen to show off the muscle of their U.S.-trained forces, ministers said other towns were in the line of fire and state television ran repetitive footage from recent days in Tal Afar of Iraqi soldiers hunting and detaining men described as rebels. Residents reported U.S. air strikes overnight, gunfire and an encirclement of U.S. armour in parts of the town as Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari announced an offensive had begun. "At 2 a.m. today (2300 BST), acting on my orders, Iraqi forces commenced an operation to remove all remaining terrorist elements from the city of Tal Afar," he said in a statement.