Marines Are Cracking Down on Insurgent Stronghold of Ramadi

U.S. Marines stepped up operations against insurgents in Ramadi on Sunday, part of an effort to clamp down on rebel strongholds as Iraqis tried to determine the shape of their new government.

Marines set up checkpoints, began inspecting vehicles and imposed a curfew on the city, capital of Sunni-dominated Al Anbar province, where Iraq’s insurgents have been most active.

A Marine spokesman downplayed comparisons to the assault on the neighboring city of Fallouja in November, when more than 70 Marines and at least 1,200 insurgents were killed in an intense battle to expel guerrilla fighters.

The spokesman said the Ramadi operation was designed to ensure a peaceful transition from Iraq’s interim government to the transitional government now forming after a national election last month.

The Marines also set up similar security measures in nearby villages along the Euphrates River.

The operation “is designed to be more proactive as opposed to reactive,” said 1st Lt. Nathan Braden, with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. “The extremists from Fallouja are not taking hold in Ramadi. The insurgency in Ramadi seems to be more criminal in nature.”

Ramadi residents said the Marine positions around the town had frightened locals and emboldened insurgents, who could be seen running through the streets with AK-47s and rocket-propelled-grenade launchers.

“The city is paralyzed. All the shops and offices are closed. We are waiting for the security situation to get worse,” said Abdul- Altif Abdullah, a 43-year-old provincial official, in a telephone interview.

City officials said there had been sporadic clashes in industrial areas in the eastern part of the city and a steady flow of helicopters and other aircraft overhead. They described a tense mood in the city.

“The citizens think that maybe this is part of an American plan to attack the city,” said Saad Sayadh, 40, another regional official reached by phone.

The new operation came after two days of bloodshed that saw hundreds of Iraqis killed or wounded, most of them while celebrating Ashura, the most solemn day of the year for Shiite Muslims.

Sunday saw a marked decrease in the number of incidents. A car bomber blew himself up near a mosque in Kirkuk in northern Iraq late Saturday. Nobody else was killed or injured in the blast, an Iraqi police official said on condition of anonymity.

Two Kurds were also killed in Kirkuk when a fire broke out in an ammunition depot, apparently detonating some of the munitions.

Three other people were killed there by gunfire from an unknown assailant, said Iraqi Police Col. Sarhad Qadir.

Times special correspondent Ali Windawi in Kirkuk and a correspondent in Baghdad contributed to this report.