NY Post reports:
BAGHDAD — U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 85 terror fighters at a suspected training camp along the marshy shores of a remote lake — one of the highest guerrilla death tolls of the two-year war, officials said yesterday.
They said citizens emboldened by the January elections are increasingly turning in intelligence tips.
The devastating raid at Lake Tharthar in central Iraq turned up booby-trapped cars, suicide-bomber vests, weapons and training documents, Iraqi Maj. Gen. Rashid Feleih said. He said the rebels included Iraqis, Filipinos, Algerians, Moroccans, Afghans and Arabs from neighboring countries.
"What's really remarkable is that the citizens this time really took the initiative to provide us with very good information," Feleih said.
In three days, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials' accounts, troops have killed at least 128 rebels nationwide, culminating in the announcement of Tuesday's attack by Iraqi commandos, backed by U.S. air and ground fire.
Read the whole thing here.
This is important for three reasons:
1) Effective action against the "foreign" fighters deals a direct blow at al Qaeda and its network of terror.
2) Iraqi citizens are now providing us with timely and useful information and in doing so are making it extremely difficult for "insurgents" to operate effectively in their homeland.
3) The sweep against the foreign fighters was spearheaded by Iraqi troops with US forces only in support roles. Iraq is much closer today than it was just a few months ago to being able to provide its own internal security.
All in all, things are looking pretty good over there. Iraq has become the place where Jihadists go to die.
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