Operation Baghdad Has Started!
Omar (at Iraq The Model)

Minutes after nighttime curfew began in Baghdad at 9 pm we saw breaking news on al-Hurra and al-Jazeera saying that Baghdad's security operation has just started.

The news says the first operation is currently underway in Azamiyah in the northeastern part of the city.

However, it looks quiet here at the moment, except for a sudden increase in activity in the skies with US jet fighters patrolling over the northern parts of Baghdad.

We're now only a few kilometers far from Azamiyah, so if there's going to be some action, we'll certainly hear-or see-it, and we'll keep you updated.

Update: ...

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Arab TV: Operations in Baghdad have begun 
Allahpundit

So says Iraq the Model citing both Al Jazeera and Al Hurra, the network sponsored by the U.S. government. It’s going to start slow and gradually build, although Maliki told his generals this morning to get the lead out before another Sunni truck bomb knocks his approval rating from 1% down to absolute zero.

Cross your fingers and standby for updates.

Update: We start on an optimistic note as U.S. and Iraqi officials have confirmed CNN’s report that one of the current Iraqi MPs was convicted in 1983 of helping plan the bombing of the U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait. Bonus optimism: the bombings were allegedly linked to Maliki’s Dawa party.

Update: The new command center next to Maliki’s office won’t be fully operational for a few days yet, according to the WashTimes.

Update: Iraqi Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim called on Bush to hold talks with Iran at a presser yesterday in Tehran. Unmentioned in the Times’s article: the fact that al-Hakim happens to be the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a Khomeinist group formed in Iran in 1982 and sponsored for years afterwards — and quite possibly to this day — by the Iranian military.

Update:  ...

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Say a prayer
Michelle Malkin

For our troops. For the innocents in Iraq.

Omar of Iraq the Model at Pajamas Media reports on Operation Baghdad.

Allah's tracking.

More:

Bombings and mortar attacks killed dozens across Baghdad on Monday as Iraqi troops set up new checkpoints and an Iraqi general took command – indications that the much-awaited operation to restore peace to the capital is gearing up nearly a month after it was announced.

With little sign of an end to the carnage, many Iraqis have complained that the security drive has been too slow in starting, allowing extremists free rein to launch attacks that have killed nearly 1,000 people in the past week. ...

News from MNF-I:

Iraqi Army and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers uncovered more than 1,100 81mm high-explosive mortar rounds at a cache near the main highway, Route Tampa, leading into the Iraqi capital Saturday.

Troops from 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Troop B, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment “Wolverines,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), made the discovery during Operation Wolverine Alesia near Yusufiyah, Iraq, just 10 miles southwest of the capital.

Acting on a tip from a local resident, the troops conducted an intentional search of the area which resulted in the largest cache find in 2nd “Commando” Brigade’s history. In all, 1,129 mortar rounds were uncovered.

The cache, which was buried in the dirt, was larger than expected. As the Soldiers continued to unearth more mortar rounds, it became evident that this was a major find.

“These mortars rounds are in the configuration to use as improvised explosive devises,” said Lt. Col. Mark Suich, the 1-89th’s commander and native of Redding, Pa. “The mortar rounds in this state cannot be used for indirect fire; they are fabricated and stored to be used against the coalition and sectarian enemies as IEDs.” ...