Maj.-Gen. Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, operations commander of Ninewa province, Iraq, has announced the launch of the "Zaer Al-Asad," ("Lion's Roar") security operation in the province.
He said that large army forces had arrived in Mossul and were deploying throughout the province in order to purge the city and its environs of Al-Qaeda operatives and lawbreakers.
It was reported that the operation, which is coordinated with the U.S. forces, is meant to last at least two or three weeks, and that the operations room set up for the purpose in Ninewa province will be headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.
Source: Al-Mada, Baghdad, May 10, 2008
