U.S., Iraqi Forces Launch Anti-Insurgent Offensive

    A joint U.S.-Iraqi force headed into the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Dora — a longtime Sunni militant area — on the second day of the operation, according to Iraqi officials. U.S. troops searched three Shiite areas on Wednesday, meeting little resistance as they searched house-to-house.

    The Interior Ministry also said U.S. and Iraqi forces were sweeping through four main districts of the capital, including Sunni and Shiite areas, at about 7 a.m., seizing various weapons and ammunitions.

    In southern Iraq, security forces closed two border points with Iran at al-Sheeb and Shalamshen — blocking the gates with large metal containers — and expanded coastal patrols to monitor maritime traffic into southern Iraq, a statement said. Authorities also set up checkpoints around Basra and were targeting the most dangerous areas in the city, Iraq's second-largest 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.

    The British military said the operation would last for 72 hours.

    The commander of the Baghdad security crackdown, Lt. Gen. Abboud Qanbar, also has said Iraq will close its borders with Syria.

    Iraqi army Brig. Qassim Moussawi, Qanbar's spokesman, said a joint U.S.-Iraqi force had moved into the southern neighborhood of Dora. The U.S. military said it could not comment on any ongoing operations.

    Iraqi and security forces also intensified their presence elsewhere in eastern Baghdad and other areas of the capital, with vehicles and motorcycles subjected to comprehensive searches at checkpoints.

    In western Baghdad, joint Iraqi and American patrols roamed the streets and stepped up searches but they showed no signs of sealing off neighborhoods in the areas, witnesses said.

    Some Iraqis were optimistic about the plan, while others complained about the inconveniences imposed as traffic jams slowed movement in the capital.