(AP/Austin American-Statesman) American forces killed four suspected insurgents and arrested more than 50 people as they launched a fourth major offensive in central Iraq. "The goal is to knock the Baath Party and the Wahhabi elements off balance,'' said Lt. Col. Nat Sassaman, a battalion commander. Wahhabism is the fundamentalist type of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and in parts of central Iraq.
2003-07-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive