U.S. Launches Largest Bombardment in Northern Iraq Since November 1

On Tuesday, U.S. forces stationed in Iraq launched the biggest air strike since President Bush declared the end of major combat on May 1 in a bid to mop up insurgents in the three northern cities of Iraq.

However, on the sixth successive day of intensifying “Operation Iron Hammer,” much controversy has been evoked over the U.S. troops` ruthless response towards the Iraqis as the number of civilian casualties has escalated.

The U.S. forces launched F-15 fighter jets and Apache helicopters to bombard targets in Baqubah, 50 km northeast of Baghdad, in Samara, 100 km north of Baghdad, and in Tikrit, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein`s hometown

In particular, F-15 jets unleashed 10 226kg-bombs and satellite-guided rockets on suspected hideaways and command centers. Some of the blasted areas are nicknamed as "RPG Alleys" because they are places where insurgents` attacks with rocket-propelled grenades are so common.

The casualties of the bombardment have not been confirmed. The U.S. forces also mobilized tanks and armored vehicles to hunt down guerrillas in Iraq, arresting a total of 30, including 26 resisting force members in Ramadi, west of Baghdad.

The U.S. troops largely concentrated their efforts in trailing and arresting insurgents. However, as the damage of U.S. forces soars, including the Chinook transport helicopter shot down by guerrillas, the U.S. is replacing search-and-seizure raids with rocket and artillery operations.

One high-ranking commander described it as a "no-holds barred" operation, The Washington Post reported. Major Gordon Tate, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit, said, "We are sending a message that they should leave out of fear or face death."

In particular, to curb the use of roadside bombs employed by Iraqi resistance fighters, soldiers have orders to shoot and kill anyone seen digging a hole alongside thoroughfares, he said. The same goes for anyone seen carrying a weapon.

The U.S. troops raided a house to catch two teenaged Fedayeen militia members in Tikrit on Monday. The U.S. soldiers failed to arrest them, capturing a 55 year-old Iraqi instead, and destroyed the house by bombing it after dispersing local residents.

Shiite Muslim leaders said that a U.S. soldier fired a gun at civilians in downtown Baghdad, killing three and wounding four. Eyewitnesses say that a U.S. soldier who was patrolling shot his gun toward the market as an Iraqi test-fired a gun he had just purchased.

"The U.S. is trying to catch flies with iron hammers, but will it ever work?," Francois Gerhard, the director of the French Foreign Policy and Defense Research Center said, raising questions over the efficiency of “Operation Iron Hammer.”

Jin Lee leej@donga.com