Baathist armed groups and their allies were forced to abandon Tal Afar following a weeklong U.S. bombing campaign that began on September 2 in advance of a ground offensive by Iraqi and U.S. troops. It is the largest offensive in Iraq since the assault on Fallujah last year. The U.S. military and much of the media say Iraqi troops took the lead in fighting in Tal Afar.

Iraqi forces made up 5,000 of the 8,500 troops in the offensive, and the Iraqi air force reportedly carried out its first combat support mission, ferrying police commandos and one army battalion to the battle.

The U.S. military says about 40 Iraqi battalions—roughly 750 soldiers in each—are “fully independent” or capable of fighting as the lead force.

The majority of the troops in Tal Afar are drawn from Shiite and Kurdish militias—the Badr Organization and pesh merga, respectively. Tal Afar’s 200,000 residents are mostly Sunni Muslim Turkmen.

In other developments U.S. troops said they killed Abu Azzam September 27. He is alleged to be a top aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. In face of gains by Washington and its allies in Baghdad, Baathists have continued a bombing campaign that is increasingly aimed at Shiite civilians.

Suicide bombers killed 110 people in the Shiite towns of Hillah and Balad September 29-30. The explosions took place in commercial centers in each town. The previous day in Tal Afar the first reported woman suicide bomber detonated explosives after clearing an Iraqi army checkpoint, killing six recruits. A statement attributed to Al Qaeda said the bombing was carried out by a “blessed sister.”

The bombings have increased as Iraq approaches a scheduled October 15 vote on a new constitution. A bombing campaign by Baathists and their allies aimed at disrupting elections last January largely failed.
 
 
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