29 July 2008
By VOA News
U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have launched a new offensive designed to rout al-Qaida in Iraq from one of its last strongholds.
Officials say the operation began Tuesday with a series of raids in Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad.
U.S. military officials say Iraqi troops are leading the fight, with only minimal support from U.S. forces.
Officials say similar operations elsewhere have contributed to a sharp decline in terrorist attacks.
Meanwhile, police in Baghdad have increased security as hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims make their way to a revered shrine, one day after three female suicide bombers killed at least 30 pilgrims, including children.
The pilgrimage to the shrine peaks Tuesday. Officials have predicted as many as one million Shi'ites could attend the commemoration in the Iraqi capital.
Security officers stand behind a car destroyed in a blast in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers north of Baghdad, 28 July 2008
Officials have banned most vehicles from the city and police have set up a series of checkpoints in an effort to prevent further violence.
The U.S. military blamed the Monday bombings in Baghdad on al-Qaida, a Sunni Muslim group that has targeted Shi'ite pilgrims in the past.
U.S. commanders say al-Qaida has increasingly used women to carry out suicide attacks because they can often evade stringent security checks applied to men. The U.S. military says female bombers have carried out at least 20 suicide attacks in Iraq this year.
Elsewhere Monday, a suicide bomber targeted a Kurdish political protest in Kirkuk. At least 25 people were killed and 150 others wounded in the blast and subsequent fighting.
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VOA
