About 600 U.S. soldiers, transported by Stryker armored assault vehicles, took the bridge Tuesday morning without resistance, according to U.S. officials. They declined to comment on how long U.S. forces would maintain control over the bridge.
In Musayyib, Marines, accompanied by dozens of Iraqi Special Forces troops who rode on a flatbed truck, executed what U.S. commanders described as the first of what will be dozens of targeted raids across the region.
Children gather around a charred vehicle after a car bombing in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Three civilians were killed and four soldiers were wounded.
(Ceerwan Aziz -- Reuters)
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A Muslim cleric, suspected of giving haven to insurgents and inciting violence against the American presence, was detained, and dozens of cassette tapes and literature were confiscated.
But the second raid appeared to show the challenges of searching for suspects who can easily melt into their communities. At approximately 3 a.m., Marines provided support for dozens of Iraqi Special Forces troops who used a battering ram to storm a three-story house in Musayyib in search of a man described as an insurgent leader.
Inside, they found the man's sister and his 18-year-old nephew, who identified himself as Abdullah. U.S. and Iraqi forces ransacked the house but found no weapons. Abdullah, blindfolded and bound, was taken away in the truck while his mother's piercing cries echoed down the empty street at 4 a.m.
"He's not in trouble. It's okay -- we just want to ask him a few questions," said one Marine, trying to console the woman. After accusing the Iraqis of stealing her money during the search, she slumped against a wall, sobbing, as the vehicles drove away with her son, who said he was a high school student.
Abdullah told a U.S. interrogator that his uncle had a house on the other side of the river and offered to take the U.S. and Iraqi forces there. The convoy wound past a market that was just opening and came to a quiet neighborhood overrun by stray dogs.
Again the U.S.-supported Iraqi forces bashed in the door, but they found this house empty except for random items: boxes for radios and bug zappers and a clock that had not been reset since daylight saving time in Iraq ended Friday.
"Did you know this house was vacant?" a Marine asked Abdullah.
"He was here three days ago," the teenager replied.
"That's a lie," the Marine muttered.
The raid ended at 4:30 a.m., as the muezzin's call to prayer echoed through the streets.
"You look disappointed," one officer said to another.
"I am," said the other officer.
"At least you're going back alive," said the first.
