The fighting in Baghdad's Haifa Street has particular significance because U.S. troops managed to take control of the area in 2005 after much fighting, and Bush declared it a success story. The WP says this time around the fighting broke out four days ago when Iraqi soldiers killed 30 insurgents who had allegedly set up an unauthorized checkpoint. The Iraqi army then asked for U.S. help when several of its soldiers were killed two days ago. The Americans went in yesterday supported by fighter jets and Apache helicopters. The strong resistance the troops faced came as a surprise because they're more accustomed to insurgents hitting quickly and then disappearing. There are no reports of casualties among the Iraqi and U.S. forces, although there were injuries. The Iraqi military said they killed at least 50 insurgents, and captured 21, including several foreign fighters. Sunni officials said those killed were civilians and criticized the operation as a way to "clean Baghdad of the remaining Sunni elements."

The Post has the best quotes from U.S. troops on the ground. A U.S. officer who is on his third tour of Iraq called it "the most intense combat I have ever seen … we were in a fight for 11 straight hours." Another sees this fight as a sign of how "all sides are getting more desperate to enforce their will and increasingly they are capable of doing that."