Washington: A massive US-Iraqi offensive launched on Thursday targeted al-Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgent groups in Samarra, but not specific leaders like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the commander of US forces in the Middle East said.
"Generally it's linked to the notion that in that vicinity where they're operating that there are some hard al-Qaeda in Iraq nodes and some hard insurgent nodes that need to be dealt with," General John Abizaid said.
Asked whether Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq was a target of the raid, Abizaid said there were "no specific high value targets that I know of."
The bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra on February 22 unleashed a wave of sectarian violence.
But Abizaid discounted suggestions that the operation signalled a new phase of fighting in response to sectarian violence.
"I wouldn't characterize it as anything that is a big departure from normal, or from the need to prosecute a target that we think is good enough to commit this much force to go get," he said.
Pentagon officials said the air assault was the largest since April 22, 2003 when the 101st Airborne Division launched an air assault from Iskandiriya to Mosul.
None of the 50 aircraft used in the operation fired their weapons during the insertion of the ground forces, they said of the operation involving over 1,500 Iraqi and US troops.
The aircraft included UH-60 Black Hawks, AH-64D Apaches and CH-47 Chinooks, they said.
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