Sentence:  The army […] subjected suspect Muslim villages to systematic <WSD>"ratissage</WSD>" – literally a ‘raking-over', a time-honoured word for ‘pacifying' operations. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A raid (especially violent) carried out by the police or military, originally and chiefly carried out by the French in Algeria. (from 1950s)