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Battle for Baqouba a tough one

Jun-23-2007 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT , 4/2 SBCT

LAUREN FRAYER; The Associated Press

BAQOUBA, Iraq – Hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi troops, under cover of F-16s, fought their way into three neighborhoods of besieged Baqouba on Friday to help clear Diyala province of entrenched insurgents.

To the north of the city, American helicopters killed 17 al-Qaida gunmen trying to sneak past a checkpoint.

As the mission of 10,000 U.S. soldiers to take back the volatile and extremely dangerous province intensified in its fourth day, so have concerns about keeping al-Qaida fighters on the run. The terrorist fighters and their allies already have been run out of Fallujah and Ramadi in Anbar province, only to regroup in Diyala’s capital of Baqouba and surrounding districts.

[...]

An Associated Press employee in Baqouba reported heavy fighting as U.S. troops swept into three eastern neighborhoods in Friday’s operation, led by the Fort Lewis-based 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which began after U.S. forces warned residents to leave or stay indoors.

[...]

“There are a multitude of systematic functions that aren’t working,” said Maj. Robbie Parke, 36, of Rapid City, S.D., and spokesman for the 3rd Stryker brigade. “The Iraqi government has to say, ‘Look, Baqouba is in trouble, and we need to help.’”

[...]


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