U.S., Iraqi forces stage joint assault

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. and Iraqi forces began a major helicopter and ground attack Thursday on an insurgent stronghold near Samarra, the Sunni Arab-dominated city where the bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine last month set off waves of sectarian bloodshed across the country.

The assault was under way 80 miles north of Baghdad as the parliament elected three months ago held its inaugural session here amid extraordinary security and sharp exchanges that reflected the country’s rising divisions. The meeting was quickly adjourned so that political bosses could resume U.S.-guided talks on the makeup of a new government’s leadership.

The joint military operation and the new parliament are elements of an American strategy to start bringing home U.S. troops, who arrived here nearly three years ago to topple President Saddam Hussein. Iraq’s military has been taking a bigger role in attacks on a Sunni Arab-led insurgency made up in part of Saddam’s supporters.

In announcing the counterinsurgency assault, called Operation Swarmer, U.S. officials emphasized the involvement of Iraqi’s army, which provided 800 of the 1,500 troops involved.

That is fewer total troops than have taken part in assaults to drive insurgents from Fallujah, Ramadi and other cities. But more than 50 aircraft, mainly helicopters, helped transport the troops, making it the largest airborne attack in Iraq since April 2003, military officials said.

A statement by the U.S. command said that the raids by the 101st Airborne Division and Iraq’s 1st Brigade would continue for several days, and that a number of insurgent weapons caches – containing artillery shells, explosives, army uniforms and materials for making car bombs – had been discovered.

Lt. Col. Edward S. Loomis, a U.S. military spokesman, said 40 people were detained for questioning on the first day of the assault. There were no reports of resistance or casualties.