On Patrol with the Army in Rural Iraq
Soldiers crouch behind a mud-brick wall, waiting for a controlled detonation of a motorcycle found near an insurgent campsite. Corey Flintoff, NPR hide caption
Soldiers crouch behind a mud-brick wall, waiting for a controlled detonation of a motorcycle found near an insurgent campsite.
Corey Flintoff, NPRBaghdad may be calmer, but in many outlying areas of Iraq, insurgents pose a persistent threat.
Nearly 300 American soldiers and an Iraqi army unit, backed up by armored vehicles and air support, recently launched an operation to clear a farming community north of Baghdad of al-Qaida fighters and their weapons.
The Army unit's offensive in the village along the Tigris River highlights new efforts to secure rural Iraq.