Operation 'Desert Scorpion' Launched in Iraq to Combat Supporters of Saddam

American soldiers in Iraq have intensified their efforts to eradicate forces loyal to the ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The U.S. Army announced today that it has launched a new operation titled 'Desert Scorpion' aimed at isolating and defeating the remnants of groups that seek to delay Iraq's transition to an era of peace and stability. The Army states that loyalists to the Ba'ath Party, terrorist organizations, and criminal elements are the main targets of the operation. A spokesperson for Central Command reported that several individuals have been arrested in the city of Fallujah since the operation began at dawn today. This operation commenced just hours after the deadline for Iraqis to surrender their weapons expired, with air units supporting American ground forces. U.S. forces in Iraq have also reported new raids coinciding with searches of neighborhoods and villages near Baghdad aimed at eradicating remnants of individuals affiliated with the overthrown Iraqi regime. Central Command stated that attackers yesterday threw grenades at an American military convoy near the town of Al-Mushahada close to Baghdad, but instead of hitting U.S. military vehicles, the grenade struck a passenger bus. The number of casualties among the bus occupants is still unknown. An American spokesperson in Baghdad reported that several American soldiers were injured in this attack and in another raid on a U.S. military convoy near Dujail. U.S. forces are in the second day of extensive searches to find and arrest loyalists of the Ba'ath Party and other guerrillas who have carried out a series of deadly attacks against American forces. In Baghdad, an explosion occurred in a tunnel frequently used by U.S. forces, injuring an Iraqi vehicle and wounding at least one Iraqi.