US rethinks Iraq tactics United States commanders are going back to Qatar as part of stepped-up military operations against Iraqi insurgents.
The military operations headquarters were moved to Florida in May when President George W Bush announced that the Saddam Hussein regime had been defeated.
Once again the Americans are using heavy firepower in Baghdad.
A spokesman for the first armoured division said they had fired mortars and artillery at a former republican guard compound near the international airport.
An AC-130 gunship was also used in the attack, and there were three separate strikes.
The Americans say they were targeting locations from which recent attacks had been mounted against coalition forces.
This ongoing operation, codenamed Iron Hammer, represents a far tougher approach by the United States, as it tries to reduce the number of guerrilla attacks.
The shift in strategy came after a series of meeting in Washington between President George W Bush, senior administration officials and the US Administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer.
