84 Insurgents Reported Killed in Raid

Iraqi police commandos backed by U.S. forces raided what they described as a large insurgent training camp northwest of Baghdad and killed 84 rebel fighters, Iraqi officials said Wednesday.

The camp, in a remote swampy area near the city of Samarra, appeared to be a long-term training center that included a network of underground tunnels, the Iraqi officials said. The insurgent death toll, if confirmed, would be the highest since the siege of Fallouja in November.

But American officials, who supplied helicopters and troops, would not provide a casualty figure and appeared more circumspect.

One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the facts weren’t in yet on the size and scope of the “facility.”

“There are people calling it a camp,” he said.

Acting on tips from area residents, Iraqi police commandos Tuesday descended on the camp, backed by the Americans. In addition to the insurgents, officials said, seven Iraqi commandos were reported killed and five injured.

Interior Ministry officials hailed the raid as a blow to the insurgency and a turning point in the development of a dependable homegrown security force.

“It was a properly organized facility. It had computers. It had plans on the walls,” ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim said. “It was a really successful operation.”

The U.S. official described the operation as a successful performance by Iraqi security troops and a sign of their growing acceptance by the population. Iraqi forces “continue to step up to the plate,” he said.

No U.S. troops were reported killed or wounded in the raid. Last week, the Iraqi 1st Police Commando Battalion, based in Tikrit, joined the U.S. 42nd Infantry Division in a sweep through Samarra, an insurgent stronghold. During a patrol this week, soldiers said, several Samarra residents told them about the insurgent camp.

“The people of Samarra were prepared to talk. It’s a phenomenon we’ve seen recently,” Kadhim said. “If the people decide they’ve had enough of the terrorists, it makes our job a lot easier.”

Located near the shores of Lake Tharthar, northwest of the capital, the camp had clearly “been there awhile,” he said.

Kadhim speculated that the site was chosen because it is remote and lies halfway between Samarra and the cities of Fallouja and Ramadi, in Al Anbar province. From there, he said, fighters could deploy to those cities, as well as Tikrit, Baqubah and Balad, all scenes of attacks.

The facility is the first such rural training camp said to have been discovered in Iraq. Insurgents have operated primarily from urban neighborhoods.

The U.S. Army provided helicopters to help track insurgents fleeing into the surrounding marshes, Iraqi officials said. Kadhim said he doubted many escaped. “Most of them were ready to fight to the death.”

Of the insurgents killed in the raid, “more than 10” appeared to be foreign fighters, Kadhim said.

“A lot of them were faceless corpses, but they had IDs,” indicating they were from Algeria, Morocco and Sudan, he said. “We’ve even got one from the Philippines.”

The issue of foreign insurgents has taken on extra sensitivity. Public protests over a news report that an alleged Jordanian suicide bomber’s family was celebrating his “martyrdom” prompted a brief diplomatic spat last week, with Iraq and Jordan withdrawing their ambassadors. Both have since returned to their posts.