Iraq Launches Biggest Offensive of Last Five Years

EmergencyNet News Daily Report
09/1/96 08:18CDT--Vol. 2 No. 245

Iraq Launches Biggest Offensive in Five Years
By Steve Macko, ENN Editor

WASHINGTON (ENN) - Iraq launched its biggest military offensive in five years on Saturday. Hundreds of tanks, tens of thousands of troops and a number of helicopters were sent into northern Iraq to capture the city of Irbil, located about 180 miles north of Baghdad. U.S. military intelligence believes that Iraq ordered three tank divisions into northern Iraq with more than 30,000 troops. The Iraqi forces were being assisted by members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

By Saturday night, most, if not all, of the city of Irbil had been taken by Iraqi forces. The rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said that it was continuing to put up a resistance to the invasion. Iraq went into the "safe haven" area for the Kurds because PUK had been cooperating with Iran, which has sent troops over the Iraqi border in recent weeks.

Iraq on Saturday said that its forces "would return to their former positions very soon," but gave no timetable. If the Iraqi forces were to withdrawal quickly it would prevent a showdown with Western forces, which appears likely if Saddam's troops stay in the area for an extended period of time.

In London on Saturday night, a PUK spokesman said that "fighting is still going on and people are resisting. Hundreds of Iraqi tanks are inside the city. The army is storming houses and arresting people." The spokesman also said that he estimated that the Iraqi army had captured about "70 percent of the city." He added that about 450 Iraqi tanks were involved in the offensive, as well as helicopter gunships.

In Washington, the Pentagon alerted U.S. air and naval forces in the United States and abroad to prepare for possible deployment to the Middle East in response to the attack on the Kurds. There are currently about 20,000 American troops in the Gulf area, most are said to be aboard U.S. Navy ships. President Clinton said that U.S. forces "are now being reinforced," but the Pentagon said that it had not received any orders to send more troops to the region.

During the day, top national security aides met at the White House to discuss the situation and to consider what options were available. The President was in touch with national security advisor Anthony Lake, several times on Saturday. Some officials are concerned that Iraq had used some its more powerful forces in the operation, it is still unclear whether what has happened is provocation enough to justify the threat of U.S. military retaliation. The situation is made more unclear by the reported request of the Kurdish faction to Iraq for assistance.

It was said that a fleet of about three dozen U.S. Air Force fighter planes from bases in Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina, plus four B-52 bombers, were informed to be ready to move at short notice. Some U.S. Navy ships were ordered to move closer to the Arabian Peninsula.

One unidentified source said that the U.S. was assembling an "air expeditionary force" that would be comprised of about 30 to 40 planes that would be sent to the Middle East -- possibly Jordan. This force would include: F-15Cs from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia; F-15Es from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina; and F-16s from Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

The Pentagon has also reportedly notified members of a U.S. Marine Amphibious Ready Group. One such group is said to be already in the Arabian Sea. The Pentagon said late on Saturday that it has more than 300 U.S. warplanes and 20 naval ships ready in case it is given the order to use military force against the Iraqis. More than 200 warplanes are already in the Gulf region, including 79 on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70, Nimitz Class). Military experts believe that if the U.S. were to stage an attack, it would rely heavily on air attacks.

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