McClatchy: End of Combat Mission? U.S.-Iraqi Raid in Fallujah Kills Six

End of combat mission? U.S.-Iraqi raid in Fallujah kills 6

FALLUJAH, Iraq — U.S. and Iraqi forces raided a neighborhood in the longtime Sunni Muslim insurgent stronghold of Fallujah on Wednesday, U.S. military officials said, killing at least six people in the deadliest joint operation since President Barack Obama announced the end of the American combat mission in Iraq two weeks ago.

The incident underscored that American forces remain engaged in offensive operations despite Obama's declaration that the fewer than 50,000 remaining U.S. troops would focus on advising and training the Iraqi military and police.

The U.S. military hasn't said what its threshold is now for engaging in combat. So far, it appears that the American military is allowed to engage when it's under attack or supporting an Iraqi effort.

A U.S. military spokesman said the predawn raid targeted a senior leader of the Sunni insurgent group al Qaida in Iraq who was alleged to be responsible for several high-profile attacks. It wasn't immediately clear whether he was among those killed.

Arriving in the Jubail section of Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi forces came under fire and Iraqi soldiers fired back, killing four people and wounding three, said the spokesman, Maj. Rob Phillips. Two other individuals began shooting at the soldiers and also were killed.

Pentagon officials don't think that U.S troops fired any shots during the raid. Residents reported seeing U.S. military helicopters supporting the operation.

Iraqi police officials offered a slightly different account, saying seven people were killed and that the raid began when the U.S.-Iraqi team set off explosives in the neighborhood around 1:30 a.m. Witnesses said that soldiers fatally shot several members of two families — including a preteen boy — as well as Yassin Qassar, a former lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein.


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