140 arrested in Baghdad sweeps: US military

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US and Iraqi forces have arrested 140 people and uncovered 14 weapons stashes in a week as they they ramp up a security operation in Baghdad, the US military said.

The combined forces "uncovered 14 weapons caches and detained 140 insurgent suspects in and around the Iraqi capital during the week of February 3-9," a statement said Sunday.

Military officials said they were focusing on the Rusafa district, a predominantly Shiite area east of the Tigris river.

"Rusafa is a focal point for us right now," the statement quoted Brigadier General John Campbell (news, bio, voting record) as saying. "We're addressing that area with increased security forces and patrols."

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070211/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestussecurity_070211120308

Insurgents launch deadly attacks on Iraq security forces

TIKRIT, Iraq (AFP) - Insurgents have launched deadly assaults on Iraqi and US forces in northern Iraq, killing at least 27 people, while security forces cracked down further south in Baghdad.

In the bloodiest attack Sunday, a suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden in an animal feed truck outside a police station near Tikrit, killing 12 policemen and prisoners and wounding 25 more people, the police area commander said.

Further north near the Syrian border, insurgents ambushed a bus carrying new recruits from the Iraqi border security force, gunning down eight of them.

The violence in northern Iraq served as a grim reminder that -- while US and Iraqi forces are conducting an energetic new operation to stifle sectarian bloodshed in the capital -- the provinces are far from safe.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070211/ts_afp/iraq_070211104606

[ixion]

1. 140 arrested, and a thousand take their place

oh yeah, this just keeps getting better. :cry:

[ohio2007]

2. 140 will be held in the latest "catch and release" program

If the Iraqi's want to release them,it's their call. Otherwise,it will lead to kidnappings and ransome payments, ya know, the oil that lubes this cycle of violence.