Soldiers Deliver Aid to 'Lost City' of Iraq

American Forces Press Service

Oct. 8, 2009 - U.S. soldiers provided humanitarian aid to Iraqis in an area locals refer to as the "Lost City." A week after completing a clearing operation led by Iraqi forces, soldiers of Bravo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, delivered essential supplies Oct. 3 to the small, impoverished neighborhood of Huzzeran, near Kirkuk.

In the "Lost City," jobs are few and far between. Drinkable water is not readily available, and the school lacks running water.

"Things are bad here; people here don't have work or anything really," said Mohammed Sadek, a teacher at the local school. "It's very good that [U.S. forces] are helping the people here who are without jobs."

Part of the mission was to assess the civil issues of the area and gather information about immediate needs, officials said.

"We need good water here in the school," Sadek said. "The children like coming to the school, but there are certain things it needs."

The soldiers identified 100 needy families in the area, with the assistance of Brig. Gen. Hijran, commander of an Iraqi emergency services unit, and Col. Adnan, chief of the Adallah Iraqi police district.

"Today was a great success," said Army Capt. Tyler Donnell, the commander of Bravo Battery. "[U.S. forces] have been doing this for years, but with the help of Col. Adnan and Gen. Hijran, we were able to help the people who need it most."

The delivery presented an opportunity for Iraqi and U.S. forces to open lines of communication between the community, its civil leaders and local security forces, officials said.

"It is a great thing the [U.S. forces] have done for the people of Adallah," Adnan said. "It is a way of reassuring the people that they are not forgotten by anyone."

(From a Multinational Corps Iraq news release.)