The Iraqi military, backed up by the United States military, launched Operation Swarmer in a town northeast of Samarra, Iraq.  The operation is said to last for at least a couple of more days.

Waqas al-Juwanya, a spokesman for Iraq’s joint coordination center in nearby Dowr, said “unknown gunmen exist in this area, killing and kidnapping policemen, soldiers and civilians.”

Near the end of the first day of the operation, the military said a number of weapons caches have been captured, containing artillery shells, explosives, bomb-making materials and military uniforms.

CNN reports it was Iraqi intelligence that led to this operation and that it is primarily Iraqi soldiers on the ground led by American commanders.  The finding of Iraqi military uniforms is quite interesting based upon what has been reported in the bombing of the Al Askariya Shrine.  Those reports included men in Iraqi military uniforms entering the shrine and forcing security personnel to vacate the morning of the blast.