IRAQ: A US attack helicopter was shot down over central Iraq yesterday as the coalition forces launched air strikes as part of a massive military campaign against resistance groups fighting the American-led occupation of the country.
The Apache helicopter - the first coalition aircraft to be lost since the end of the war two months ago - was shot down as it raided a "terrorist camp" 95 miles north of Baghdad.
The Apache's two pilots were rescued uninjured by ground troops from the 101st Airborne division taking part in the assault.
US fighter planes had bombed the camp shortly before the assault, but met "heavy and well-organised resistance", according to a senior military official. "We are conducting a campaign to take out Baath Party loyalists and irregular Iraqi forces have been engaging with American forces in recent weeks," the official said.
One US solider was wounded in the assault on a day which also saw an F-16 fighter-bomber crash outside Baghdad as a result of mechanical failure.
The raid came as troops for the third day engaged in "Operation Peninsula Strike", one of the largest military actions since the end of the war.
Over 30,000 thousand US troops, supported by fighter planes and Apache helicopters, have entered the region since the operation began. Their efforts are focused on the Tigris River town of Duluiyah, the tribal heartland to the north of Baghdad where military officials believe attacks on US troops are being planned by Saddam loyalists.
A total of 397 Iraqis have so far been arrested in an attempt to curb what have become almost daily incidents involving Iraqi resistance groups and American forces.
Eight US soldiers have been killed over the past fortnight in a series of ambushes and drive-by shootings, taking to 42 the number of US servicemen who have died in fighting or accidents in Iraq since May 1st, when President Bush declared an end to major military operations.
Lt-Gen David McKiernan, the senior US commander in Iraq, said yesterday that pro-Saddam fighters were now on the defensive. "Are there bad guys still out there? Absolutely," he told a news conference. "Are we going after them? Absolutely."
But in towns visited yesterday by The Irish Times inside the troubled region, the raids over the past few days have only fuelled anti-American sentiment.
Residents of Khaldiya described how a US patrol driving through their town began firing indiscriminately at people. "It was a terrible experience," said Abdul Mohsen, who was shot in the leg during the incident, in which four people died.
"I was just standing outside my house chatting to neighbours. My family was informed the next day that a new curfew had been announced and that was why we were shot. But we were never told about it."
Ahmed Asi, from the town of Balad, described how his house had been ransacked during the US operation. "We were terrified. Soldiers burst in and wrecked the place and then left without saying a word. This has made me very angry. I once supported the Americans. I would think about shooting them now."