Iraq families flee as forces raid rebel town

TAL AFAR – Sporadic fighting flared in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar yesterday as American and Iraqi troops pressed on with an all-out offensive Sunday to wrest control of the area from rebels, sending thousands of residents fleeing.

The US military said it expected to wrap up within days the operation in Tal Afar, the largest against insurgents since the US-led onslaught on the restive town of Fallujah last November. Iraq’s Red Crescent said up to 7 000 families were fleeing the fighting in Tal Afar, a town between the main northern city of Mosul and the Syrian border that US commanders say has become a major staging post for foreign fighters.The US military said more than 141 “terrorists” had been killed in Tal Afar since late August and another 211 captured, along with weapons caches.”By the 15th of September we should be done.The enemy will be defeated,” said US commander Major Robert Molinari.”There’s no areas they are controlling, they are either on the run or dead,” he said, adding that rebels had been isolated in the south-eastern Saray district of the city.Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said on Friday he had given the go-ahead for the assault after days of deadly clashes failed to dislodge the rebels and on Saturday Iraq announced the closure of the Rafia border crossing into Syria.Around 4 000 US troops and 6 000 Iraqis are involved in the operation.Yesterday, US and Iraqi troops were combing restive Sunni neighbourhoods of Saray and Kadissiyah in search of rebels and arresting men who remained there despite a warning to those still living there to leave town.Sporadic fighting was taking place in the two districts as some rebels armed with light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades continued to battle security forces, US sergeant Clarence McKaine said.- Nampa-AFPIraq’s Red Crescent said up to 7 000 families were fleeing the fighting in Tal Afar, a town between the main northern city of Mosul and the Syrian border that US commanders say has become a major staging post for foreign fighters.The US military said more than 141 “terrorists” had been killed in Tal Afar since late August and another 211 captured, along with weapons caches.”By the 15th of September we should be done.The enemy will be defeated,” said US commander Major Robert Molinari.”There’s no areas they are controlling, they are either on the run or dead,” he said, adding that rebels had been isolated in the south-eastern Saray district of the city.Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said on Friday he had given the go-ahead for the assault after days of deadly clashes failed to dislodge the rebels and on Saturday Iraq announced the closure of the Rafia border crossing into Syria.Around 4 000 US troops and 6 000 Iraqis are involved in the operation.Yesterday, US and Iraqi troops were combing restive Sunni neighbourhoods of Saray and Kadissiyah in search of rebels and arresting men who remained there despite a warning to those still living there to leave town.Sporadic fighting was taking place in the two districts as some rebels armed with light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades continued to battle security forces, US sergeant Clarence McKaine said.- Nampa-AFP