Thu, 10 Jan '08http://www.dailymail.com/News/200801100677Massive U.S. air strikes pound insurgent havens south of BaghdadBy Hamza Hendawi, The Associated Press
ZAMBARANIYAH, Iraq - U.S. warplanes unleashed one of the most intense air strikes of the Iraq war Thursday, dropping more than 18,000 kilograms of explosives in a thunderous 10-minute onslaught on suspected "al-Qaida in Iraq" safe havens in Sunni farmlands south of Baghdad.
The mighty barrage, recalling the Pentagon's "shock and awe" raids during the 2003 invasion, appeared to mark a significant escalation in a countrywide offensive launched this week to try to cripple remaining insurgent strongholds.
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Maj. Alayne Conway, a spokeswoman for troops in central Iraq, said the amount of ordnance dropped in 10 minutes nearly exceeded what had been used in that region in any month since last June.
Conway said the air attack "was one of the largest air strikes since the onset of the war" in March 2003.---------------------------------------------------------
"Thirty-eight bombs were dropped within the first 10 minutes, with a total tonnage of 40,000 pounds" the statement said. That tonnage would equal just over 18,000 kilograms.
US Doubles Air Attacks in Iraq
By Charles J. Hanley
Associated Press
June 5, 2007Four years into the war that opened with "shock and awe," U.S. warplanes have again stepped up attacks in Iraq, dropping bombs at more than twice the rate of a year ago. The airpower escalation parallels a nearly four-month-old security crackdown that is bringing 30,000 additional U.S. troops into Baghdad and its surroundings - an urban campaign aimed at restoring order to an area riven with sectarian violence. It also reflects increased availability of planes from U.S. aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. And it appears to be accompanied by a rise in Iraqi civilian casualties.
In the first 4 1/2 months of 2007, American aircraft dropped 237 bombs and missiles in support of
ground forces in Iraq, already surpassing the 229 expended in all of 2006, according to U.S. Air Force figures obtained by The Associated Press."Air operations over Iraq have ratcheted up significantly, in the number of sorties, the number of
hours (in the air)," said Col. Joe Guastella, Air Force operations chief for the region. "It has a lot to do with increased pressure on the enemy by MNC-I" - the Multinational Corps-Iraq - "combined with more carriers."
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Examples of attacks, as reported in the Air Force's daily summary:
-Last Friday, an Air Force F-16 fighter dropped a guided 500-pound bomb near the northern city of Tal Afar that destroyed a vehicle laden with explosives to be used as a bomb.
-The day before, an F-16 dropped a similar bomb on "an inaccessible building being used by insurgents" near Samarra, north of Baghdad, with "good effects."
-Last Wednesday, another F-16 dropped bombs on "an illegal bridge and an insurgent vehicle in Baghdad."
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/occupation/2007/0605bombardment.htm http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,242614,00.htmlOfficials: Troop Surge in Iraq to Begin This Month
Wednesday, January 10, 2007WASHINGTON — President Bush will tell the nation Wednesday night that a gradual "surge of 20,000 U.S. troops" to Iraq will begin later this month, and that the administration expects the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to seize control of all 18 provinces by November, senior U.S. officials confirmed to FOX News.