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Iraqi militant stronghold stormed

Peter Beaumont

BAGHDAD: U.S. and Iraqi troops swept into the militant stronghold of Tal Afar on Friday in the biggest assault since the retaking of Falluja.

Amid warnings from senior officials that assaults were also planned for Samarra and Ramadi, troops in Tal Afar battered down walls with armoured vehicles as they conducted house-to-house searches.

The assault on Tal Afar, the second attempt to dislodge fighters there, had been expected for weeks. In early fighting, coalition forces faced several hundred lightly armed militants in the largely deserted city, about 96 km east of the Syrian border. There was heavy gunfire in the Sarai district — the oldest part of the city and the main militant headquarters.

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced the start of the all-out offensive in a statement issued early Saturday. "At 2am today, acting on my orders, Iraqi forces commenced an operation to remove all remaining terrorist elements from the city of Tal Afar. These forces are operating with support from the Multinational Force."

At a news conference later in the day, Mr. Jaafari said the militants wanted "to isolate Tal Afar from the political process as we are preparing for the referendum on the Constitution ... so our duty is to protect the country and spare no effort in helping all Iraqi people."

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

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