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Force to space in Baghdad

BBC:

Iraqi security forces have begun a massive operation to hunt down insurgents in the Baghdad area.

Reports say 40,000 soldiers and police officers are involved in sealing all the roads in and out of the capital.

Operation Lightning follows an upsurge in insurgent attacks, which has killed more than 600 in the past month.

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The operation is backed by 10,000 US troops based in the area.

"The operation began today, the troops will block all entrances of Baghdad to prevent terrorists from conducting activities in the capital," a defence ministry official was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

"It's a crackdown on the terrorism infrastructure."

Since the enemy uses terrorism raids, and so far, intelligence operations have not been adequate to shut them off completely, a large cordon and search operation, effects the ability of the enemy to move in and out of the area to conduct raids. If every vehicle is searched, it will be harder for the enemy to evade detection. In theory, if the force is large enough the enemy cannot make a move without being detected and engaged. Since the enemy has not been able to survive its engagements with US and Iraqi forces his operations should be limited significantly.