U.S. warplanes pound southern Baghdad outskirts

By Peter Graff

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes launched their biggest air strike in Iraq since at least 2006 on Thursday, bombarding date palm groves on Baghdad's southern outskirts with more than 40,000 pounds of bombs in a matter of minutes.

Two B-1 bombers and four F-16 fighter jets struck more than 40 al Qaeda targets in three zones of Arab Jabour, a lush district just south of the capital that has become a haven for fighters driven out of other areas.

"Thirty-eight bombs were dropped within the first 10 minutes, with a total tonnage of 40,000 pounds," the military said in a statement. "Each bomber passed over twice and the F-16s followed to complete the set."

The attack formed part of Operation Phantom Phoenix, a major countrywide offensive against al Qaeda guerrillas that U.S. forces announced this week.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said if U.S. forces were able to oust the militants from their current enclaves, there were not many other places they could go. But he warned that U.S. troops still faced a difficult mission.

"There will continue to be tough days and tough weeks. We are not done yet, by any means," Gates said at a Pentagon news conference with Iraqi Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassim.

U.S. forces spokesman Maj. Winfield Danielson said Thursday's air strike was the biggest in Iraq since at least 2006. A spokeswoman for U.S. forces in central Iraq, Maj. Allayne Conway, said it was too soon to assess the damage inflicted.

"We certainly have our opponents on the ropes and we're going to go after him while he is on the ropes," said Lt.-Col. Robert Wilson, deputy commander of the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, in a statement.

Large-scale air strikes have been rare in Iraq, especially over the past few months when the intensity of military action tapered off as overall violence declined and U.S. commanders emphasized "hearts and minds" engagement with civilians.

In televised remarks to security officials, Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said: "The sectarian violence has ended and we are now aiming to complete the national reconciliation process with the whole spectrum of the Iraqi people."

But the operation launched this week shows a renewed determination by U.S. forces to use traditional combat power against a stubborn al Qaeda enemy that has not lost its ability to launch attacks despite being driven from most areas.

TOLL ON US SOLDIERS

The offensive has taken its toll on American forces as well. After a month in which the rate of U.S.-led coalition deaths fell to fewer than one per day for the first time since 2004, nine American soldiers were killed in 48 hours.

Gates said the deaths were a "stark reminder of the work that remains to be done."

Six American soldiers were killed on Wednesday by an explosion in a booby-trapped house in Diyala province, and three others were killed on Tuesday in Salahuddin province, two northern areas where U.S. forces say al Qaeda has regrouped.