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U.S., Iraqi troops attack ‘Sniper Alley’ insurgents

Smoke rises over an area where U.S. and Iraqi troops clashed with gunmen in a Sunni insurgent stronghold north of the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Alexandra Zavis Los Angeles Times
Smoke rises over an area where U.S. and Iraqi troops clashed with gunmen in a Sunni insurgent stronghold north of the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Attack helicopters pumped rockets at gunmen holed up in office towers and apartment blocks Wednesday, as U.S. and Iraqi forces swept through a notorious Sunni-insurgent enclave in the heart of Baghdad.

The U.S. military said the fighting around Haifa Street was part of a new offensive launched before dawn to disrupt illegal militias and bring the volatile area at the heart of Baghdad under the control of Iraqi security forces.

The attack began within hours after President Bush, in his State of the Union speech, urged Congress to support his plan to boost troops and crack down on violence in Baghdad and other volatile areas of Iraq.

The low thud of mortar blasts rocked the capital for hours, and smoke billowed into the sky above Haifa Street, dubbed “Sniper Alley,” which U.S. and Iraqi forces have struggled to tame.

It was the second time this month that U.S. and Iraqi forces clashed with insurgents on the commercial and residential street just north of the Green Zone, which is home to the U.S. and British embassies, as well as the Iraqi parliament.

Iraqi officials said the operation was not part of a planned security offensive for the capital, but that it would prepare the way for a more concerted ground effort.

“What kind of security plan is this?” asked one terrified resident, who spent the morning cowering in his home near Haifa Street. “They are destroying us, pounding an area less than 1-square-kilometer with mortars, shells from helicopters and their tanks.”

As many as 31 gunmen were killed and 35 detained Wednesday, including numerous foreign fighters, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The U.S. military confirmed only seven arrests.

In the Haifa Street sweep, Iraqi soldiers and police were joined by elements of the U.S. 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat team, 2nd Infantry Division for the operation dubbed Tomahawk Strike 11.

Wednesday’s battle took place across the river from the site where a private helicopter crashed Tuesday. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad offered his condolences Wednesday for five killed contractors from Blackwater USA, which provides security to U.S. officials and other clients in Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi officials saying four of five Americans who died in the incident were shot execution-style, the Associated Press reported.