Al Qaeda remnants under assault in Kirkuk

BBC:

US and Iraqi forces are carrying out a major security operation in the northern city of Kirkuk, where a 12-hour curfew was imposed.

Iraqi police said that so far more than 20 suspects had been detained.

They said more then 3,500 Iraqi forces and hundreds of US soldiers were targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq militants.

Correspondents say there are rumours senior al-Qaeda activists may have made their way to Kirkuk to elude the surge in security in and around Baghdad.

The BBC's Jim Muir in the capital says the curfew was imposed from 0500 local time (0200 GMT) without warning by the authorities in Kirkuk.

Main routes in and out of the city were sealed.

Iraqi police and army units combed the city, searching homes and raiding other buildings suspected of harbouring insurgent elements.

Kirkuk's police chief said that a number of known suspects were among those detained for questioning.

...

Recent intelligence suggest that the remains of al Qaeda have headed into northern Iraq which would put them in the near Kirkuk. The scope of this operation suggest that we had some specific intelligence on some al Qaeda leaders and where they were located. The curfew would make it difficult for the enemy operatives to get out of town before the surge.

Update: AFP reports that the number of al Qaeda suspects arrested has risen to 45.

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