U.S. Strikes Alleged Al Qaeda Allies; Kurdish Militias Mass in Hope Air Assault Paves Way for Ground Attack FINAL Edition

• Published in: The Washington post
• Main Author: Karl Vick and Daniel Williams
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, D.C WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post 22.03.2003
• Subjects: Iraq War-2003; Military air strikes; Terrorism; Iraq; SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq, March 22 (Saturday)
• ISSN: 0190-8286

The airstrikes against Ansar al-Islam struck bunkers and checkpoints in a remote corner of the Halabja Valley, about 35 miles southeast of here near the Iranian border. A commander with the Kurdish militia allied with the United States said the U.S. assault began with five detonations from what appeared to be cruise missiles. U.S. Special Forces troops also were known to be in the area, which was closed to reporters in advance of the attack. Kurdish officials, who have ruled this section of northern Iraq since 1991 under the protection of U.S. and British fighter patrols, called the strike against Ansar just one more component in a U.S.- led war on terrorism. Reporters sighted a few U.S. Special Operations forces along the line between Bardarasha, east of Mosul, and the town of Kalek to the southwest. The U.S. troops were attached to about a dozen Kurdish units specially trained for infiltration behind Iraqi lines. But the numbers of Americans present, estimated by Kurdish officials to be about 60, is far below the necessary strength to storm the cities of Mosul or Kirkuk. The Pentagon had wanted a force of 62,000 troops in northern Iraq.