Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases
WASHINGTON, June 23, 2010 - Afghan and international security forces killed a large number of insurgents, including several key leaders for both the Haqqani terrorist network and the Taliban, in the Jani Khel district of Afghanistan's Paktia province earlier this week, military officials reported today.
The security force killed Hamiddullah, a Haqqani network commander for the Sabari district in Khost province. Hamiddullah had direct ties to Haqqani senior leaders based in Pakistan and he reportedly was responsible for an ambush of an Afghan army unit in March that resulted in the deaths of three Afghan police officers.
According to intelligence information and local police, news of Hamiddullah's death is expected to have significant disruptive effects on the insurgent network operating throughout Khost and Paktia, officials said.
Earlier this month, Afghan and international forces killed a number of Haqqani network fighters, including another Haqqani commander, Fazil Subhan, in Khost province.
In the recent two-day offensive operation on the largest insurgent camp in the area, assault forces also killed Qari Ismael, a Taliban leader for Jani Khel district, and Maulawi Sadiq, a known facilitator for foreign fighters.
After the fighting stopped, officials and village elders reported that a large number of foreign fighters, including Arabs, Uzbeks, Turks and Chechens, were among those killed. Afghan and coalition forces also found dozens of automatic weapons, multiple rocket-propelled grenade launchers and rounds, and communication equipment.
The Haqqani network is attempting to establish strongholds in the Khost-Gardez Pass in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Paktia and Khost provinces, officials said. Large numbers of foreign fighters remain interspersed in the ranks of the Taliban and Haqqani networks, and the area is used by insurgent groups to move supplies and foreign fighters into Afghanistan from Pakistan, they added.
No coalition forces were injured or killed despite engagement by heavily armed insurgents on four different occasions throughout the operation.
In an operation the night of June 21 in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghan security forces working with International Security Assistance Force partners found more than 11 tons of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer banned by the Afghan government because it can be used in making explosives.
Authorized by Afghanistan's interior ministry, Afghan special police surrounded a compound housing several insurgents. After ensuring all residents exited safely and arresting the insurgents, police found the ammonium nitrate.
Based on a current ISAF analysis, officials said, this discovery eliminated more than 500 potential roadside bombs.
In a separate action yesterday morning, a combined Afghan-international patrol conducted an operation in Kandahar province to disrupt a network known to sell illegal drugs to finance the Taliban insurgency. After surrounding the compound of interest, Afghan special police ensured all residents exited safely. A man was detained, and police seized more than 140 pounds of opium.
No civilians were injured in either operation.
In other news from Afghanistan:
-- An Afghan-international security force detained several suspected insurgents while pursuing a Taliban commander in Zabul province last night. The security force found and destroyed automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenade boosters and ammunition. No shots were fired, and no one was harmed during the operation.
-- A separate Afghan-international security force operation detained several suspected insurgents and found 30 pounds of opium in Helmand province last night while searching for the newly appointed Taliban deputy shadow governor for Nawah-ya Barakzai district. No one was harmed, and the combined force protected a number of women and children during the operation.
-- An Afghan-international security force detained the Taliban's recently appointed chief of finance for Baghlan province, along with two other suspected insurgents, in Helmand the night of June 21. The Taliban finance chief also is a bomb-making expert and former district commander of at least three insurgent cells in Baghlan. No shots were fired, and the combined force protected the women and children present during the search. This operation continues a string of recent successes against Taliban networks in Baghlan, officials noted. In late May, combined forces removed three successively appointed Taliban provincial shadow governors for the province. Mullah Ruhullah was killed along with his deputy on May 14. His replacement, Maulawi Jabbar, was killed along with two Taliban commanders on May 28. Three days later, his replacement was detained by Afghan and coalition forces.
-- Also on the night of June 21, combined forces acting on an Afghan civilian's tip detained two foreign fighters in Kandahar province while pursuing the Dand district's Taliban military commander, who is linked to suicide-bomb attacks in the province. No shots were fired, and the combined force protected women and children present during the search that led to the detention of two Pakistani men.
-- On June 21, a combined security force detained several suspected insurgents in Helmand's Nawa Barak district while pursuing a senior Taliban commander who operates in the area. The commander is a bomb-attack facilitator and Taliban fund raiser, officials said, and also is suspected of involvement in suicide-bomb attacks.
-- Afghan and international partners conducted an operation in Helmand province the night of June 20 to disrupt a Taliban network that supplies explosives and other materials used in roadside bombs. When several insurgents failed to follow directions from Afghan special police and presented a deadly threat to the combined force, they were killed. Police ensured the remaining residents left the compound safely. Women and children were protected, and two men were taken into custody. No civilians were injured.
-- An Afghan-international patrol confiscated more than a ton and a half of unprocessed opium and more than 20 pounds of heroin during a vehicle search June 21 in Helmand's Garm Ser district. Two individuals were captured and detained when they fled from the vehicle.
Showing posts with label police officers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police officers. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Opposing Force Puts Deploying Troops to Test
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 27, 2010 - For the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, Army Spc. Kevin Pemberton is the bane of their existence.He's the face of the insurgency they will face when they deploy to Afghanistan this summer – an ever-adapting enemy that seemingly will stop at nothing to kill coalition and Afghan troops, instill fear in the population and, ultimately, derail Afghan progress.
Pemberton has spent the past 15 months as a member of the Joint Readiness Training Center's permanent opposing force here. The 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, lurks in the shadows throughout every training rotation.
Its members, referred to as "Geronimo" or simply "G-Men," plant mock improvised explosive devices throughout the miles of dusty roadways that cut through the center's pine forests. They rig vehicles with explosives designed to create mayhem. They set up ambushes and launch small-arms and rocket-propelled-grenade attacks against coalition and Afghan forces.
And they blend inconspicuously among the Afghan population the security forces are working to protect, portrayed by role players dressed in authentic Afghan clothing.
Pemberton, in his mid-20s, grew a heavy beard and mustache to keep rotational training units like the 4th BCT "Currahee" from easily identifying him as a soldier. He dresses in a traditional dishdasha robe and turban.
The only thing that differentiates his appearance from the typical Afghan is the reddish cast to his hair and the laser gear he and the other players in the maneuver box wear to add realism to the training by detecting when the wearer has been wounded or killed.
Like most of the Geronimo force, Pemberton has been deployed to Afghanistan and has witnessed insurgent tactics up close and personal. He incorporates his own experiences from the 15 months he spent in northern Afghanistan's Kunar province with regular updates his battalion gets to keep the opposing force current in ever-evolving insurgent tactics.
He also keeps close tabs with his buddies in the combat theater, to hear directly from them what the enemy is up to.
"We know what they are doing over there," he said, citing his most recent report from the theater, of a female insurgent who launched an RPG from a motorcycle in Wardak province.
"That doesn't mean we're going to start attacking from motorcycles here," he said. "But our goal is to replicate what is happening there the best we can, and to make it as realistic and challenging as possible for the [rotational training units].
Pemberton enjoys the authority driven down to more junior levels within the opposing force here. There's less free play now than during past training rotations that focused on the Iraq theater, but he takes pride in personalizing his role in the bigger ambushes and more complex operations the opposing force now conducts.
"I try to take what's going on in Afghanistan and put a little of my own signature on it," he said.
Last week, Pemberton played the role of a suicide bomber intent on disrupting the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a municipal building in the fictional Afghan village of Sangari. He arrived at the village – one of 22 mock Afghan villages dotting the training center's 200,000 acres – hours before the ceremony, slipping in before the 4th Brigade Combat Team and its Afghan counterparts had set up a security perimeter.
Beneath his flowing robe, he concealed a suicide vest rigged with five bricks of C4 explosives. Tucked in his pocket, along with the detonator, was an Afghan citizenship card identifying him as Zabidullah Nafi'e Hamet Mahsud.
"My name changes every day," Pemberton said. "Sometimes I have to look at the card to remember who I am."
Pemberton moved comfortably around Sangari, mingling among the villagers. If questioned by security forces, he was ready to pass himself off as a wheat farmer, traveling with his wife. He'd come to Sangari alone, but felt sure he could pull a woman from the village if necessary to support his ruse.
"Once, I was interrogated for an hour and a half, and I was able to spin out one lie after another," he said. Ultimately, the unit that had detained him released him for insufficient evidence. But during last week's mission, Pemberton had no intention of being detained. His plan was to wait until the ribbon-cutting ceremony concluded and the crowd started to disperse, then to detonate.
If necessary, he'd detonate sooner. But by waiting as long as possible to detonate would reduce civilian casualties, he explained, and more importantly, serve as the ultimate counterpoint to any message of assurance offered during the ceremony.
In the lead-up to the ceremony, he joined the crowd that gathered in front of the municipal building. He positioned himself along the security line, directly behind Darrell Thrasher, a role player depicting an Afghan police officer.
Pemberton successfully carried out his plan, storming the municipal center after the ribbon-cutting. The detonation occurred as Afghan soldiers and police attempted to stop his charge, with an air cluster generating smoke and noise.
Chaos erupted among the crowd, as screaming men and women fled the area. Left lying behind, along with Pemberton, were 12 casualties – six Afghan soldiers, four Afghan police officers and two civilians.
The 4th Brigade "Currahees" scrambled into position as simulated rockets crashed down in the distance and insurgent forces engaged U.S. and Afghan forces manning the control points ringing the village.
Pemberton's prediction made before the incident had proven accurate. "This town is green right now," he said, meaning it supports the Afghan national government rather than the insurgency. "But it will go red" – shifting its loyalty to the Taliban - because its people had lost faith in the security provided by the Afghan forces, he said.
Such a training scenario "happens every rotation here," Pemberton said.
Pemberton and his fellow G-Men are committed to helping rotational training units prevent that from happening when they arrive in Afghanistan. "I am not here to win," he said. "I am here as a training utensil for these guys."
After more than a year with the opposing force, Pemberton said he has seen the full scope of tactics, with units demonstrating the full spectrum of capabilities. "In any big training environment like this, you get the good and the bad," he said. "You see really good and really bad examples."
Often, he said, it comes down to remembering the basics: conducting pre-combat inspections, ensuring troops have sufficient water and ammunition and that their weapons are loaded, correctly securing sectors of fire, and setting up tactical checkpoints and searching prisoners of war.
"It comes down to first-line supervisors," he said. "By the end of their time here, they get the picture."
The experience here will pay off when the opposing force troops return to regular Army units and ultimately deploy, he said.
"Tactically, if you have half a brain while [participating in the opposing force], you will learn something here," Pemberton said. "You just can't do this and not take something valuable away from it."
(This is the fourth article in a series about how the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., is preparing the 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team for its upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.)
Friday, March 05, 2010
Forces Detain Insurgents, Seize Weapons
American Forces Press Service
March 5, 2010 - Combined patrols of Afghan and International Security Assistance Force servicemembers have detained several insurgents and seized numerous weapons in operations throughout Afghanistan in recent days, officials said.
In Wardak province today, a combined force searched a compound in the Chak-e Wardak district after intelligence indicated militant activity. As the assault force approached the compound, an armed insurgent fled. Servicemembers followed and called for him to surrender. When the insurgent tried to engage them with a machine gun, the force killed the insurgent.
The unit found several weapons in the compound and on the insurgent, including grenades, an automatic rifle, a machine gun, and a rocket-propelled grenade.
In operations yesterday in Afghanistan:
- A combined force searched a compound in the Panjwa'I district of Kandahar province last night after intelligence information indicated militant activity. They detained three suspected militants.
- In Khowst, a combined security force searched a compound in the Sabari district after intelligence information indicated militant activity. During the search, the force detained a suspected insurgent and found some weapons parts.
- In Paktika province, a combined force searched a compound south of Orgun after intelligence indicated militant activity. During the search, the security force captured a suspected Haqqani weapons trafficker responsible for the purchase and movement of machine guns and antiaircraft components. Another insurgent also was detained.
- An international patrol searched a vehicle in the Reg-e Khan Neshin district of Helmand and found two 107mm rockets, an RPG warhead, two anti-tank land mines, a Chinese mortar round, three 107mm rocket fuses, 20 14.5mm rounds and a 122mm projectile. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the weapons.
On Wednesday, in the Chorah district of Uruzgan province, Afghan National Police officers on patrol with ISAF servicemembers discovered a weapons cache. The cache contained four RPGs, an 81mm mortar and seven RPG fuel cells. An EOD team destroyed the cache.
No Afghan civilians were harmed during these operations.
(Information compiled from an International Joint Command news release.)
March 5, 2010 - Combined patrols of Afghan and International Security Assistance Force servicemembers have detained several insurgents and seized numerous weapons in operations throughout Afghanistan in recent days, officials said.
In Wardak province today, a combined force searched a compound in the Chak-e Wardak district after intelligence indicated militant activity. As the assault force approached the compound, an armed insurgent fled. Servicemembers followed and called for him to surrender. When the insurgent tried to engage them with a machine gun, the force killed the insurgent.
The unit found several weapons in the compound and on the insurgent, including grenades, an automatic rifle, a machine gun, and a rocket-propelled grenade.
In operations yesterday in Afghanistan:
- A combined force searched a compound in the Panjwa'I district of Kandahar province last night after intelligence information indicated militant activity. They detained three suspected militants.
- In Khowst, a combined security force searched a compound in the Sabari district after intelligence information indicated militant activity. During the search, the force detained a suspected insurgent and found some weapons parts.
- In Paktika province, a combined force searched a compound south of Orgun after intelligence indicated militant activity. During the search, the security force captured a suspected Haqqani weapons trafficker responsible for the purchase and movement of machine guns and antiaircraft components. Another insurgent also was detained.
- An international patrol searched a vehicle in the Reg-e Khan Neshin district of Helmand and found two 107mm rockets, an RPG warhead, two anti-tank land mines, a Chinese mortar round, three 107mm rocket fuses, 20 14.5mm rounds and a 122mm projectile. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the weapons.
On Wednesday, in the Chorah district of Uruzgan province, Afghan National Police officers on patrol with ISAF servicemembers discovered a weapons cache. The cache contained four RPGs, an 81mm mortar and seven RPG fuel cells. An EOD team destroyed the cache.
No Afghan civilians were harmed during these operations.
(Information compiled from an International Joint Command news release.)
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
30 Days Through Afghanistan: The Man with the Black Hat – Day 21
By U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathan Gallahan, ISAF Joint Command Public Affairs
March 2, 2010 - We keep running into these extremely interesting civilians who can never talk to us officially, but teach us so much about counter insurgency and what’s happening in Afghanistan. It sucks for Ken because video cameras scare them away but I can get in there and really get some good information.
Today’s secret man was in his late 40’s, wore a black 8-point hat, dressed professionally and was sitting quietly before I went outside to catch some fresh air. When I came back in, poor Ken was embroiled in conversation with him. I say poor because I could see how badly he wanted to capture it on film, but it just wasn’t going to happen.
We found out later that this man works for the U.S. State Department. By design, it takes a lot of approvals for them to talk with anyone with a camera for good reason. I believe the relationship between media and government agencies in the United States have soured over the years because, one, the government can be hard to work with and may not relinquish information easily and two, media sometimes takes half of the information from the government and then makes a truthful, yet incomplete story from it. The lack of a seamless relationship between the two is resulting in our inability to get these incredible people on camera.
Regardless, I’m going to tell their stories anyway because what they have to say and what they are seeing is incredibly important to Afghanistan.
Before I dive into the intricacies of this man’s experiences, I’m going to make a quick note. The Afghan National Police are, as a whole, incapable for now. There are pockets of successes across the country, but every subject matter expert we’ve talked to, including the ANP chief at the mountain pass, agrees there is a lot of work and mentoring to be done with the ANP. Whether its corruption, lack of training lack of weapons or poor logistics, it’s all here and it’s on ISAF’s priority list.
Back with the man in the black hat, our conversation covered a range of very interesting topics, including his close relationships with village elders and his experiences training police in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s been in this country for about five years. I wish I could cover all of the topics, but I try to stick to one at a time and horde the rest for future travel days.
One of the most interesting stories he told us was about how he worked with the ANP a few years ago. It was just him and the police officers, lots of them. So he would work and train with them daily and end up in fights with them against anti-Afghan fighters. One success story he told us about was a time when he and his police officers were pinned down by the Taliban in a ditch. None of the police officers would get up and start fighting. He then jumped up himself and lead from the front and the ANP “kicked some serious *** that day.” When he told us this story his eyes filled with passion and he talked about how these Afghans are brave, they just need strong leadership to get them through tough situations. The same challenges can be seen in any of ISAF’s contributing nations, so much comes down to leadership. But leaders need to be well trained, experienced and intelligent. The ANP unit he was with was successful because he led them, and since those guys have now been through it, learned and understand how to operate, they can move on to help other ANP units.
He told us how ISAF gets training wrong sometimes by sitting the Afghans down and showing them PowerPoint slides and talking line by line through a translator. He said the key to training Afghans is to first teach them why they need to learn it.
He referenced one of his ANP classes he taught awhile ago. He was teaching them AK-47 basics. One of the students told him he didn’t need to learn anything about the AK-47 because his father was a Mujahadeen fighter. So he took the class out to the range, and asked the student to take some shots at a target, the shots were all over the place and the student understood why he needed the education. He also talked of other concepts, such as proving to the Afghans why the training is important and to also keep it fun. I wish the U.S. military schools I have attended throughout my career would listen to the man in the black hat, because it has takes an incredible amout of discipline for me to keep my eyes open.
It amazed me how simple the concepts were but how easy they could be looked over. I’ve seen both good and bad training during my travels around the country and I believe as time passes and the concepts of counter insurgency continue to trickle down from ISAF headquarters, the training will improve and the capability of the ANP will improve along with it.
The man in the black hat told us a lot of stories and shared with us a lot of experiences. I have them written in my notebook, I hope to share them later, because it was a rare glimpse into a very interesting Afghanistan perspective.
March 2, 2010 - We keep running into these extremely interesting civilians who can never talk to us officially, but teach us so much about counter insurgency and what’s happening in Afghanistan. It sucks for Ken because video cameras scare them away but I can get in there and really get some good information.
Today’s secret man was in his late 40’s, wore a black 8-point hat, dressed professionally and was sitting quietly before I went outside to catch some fresh air. When I came back in, poor Ken was embroiled in conversation with him. I say poor because I could see how badly he wanted to capture it on film, but it just wasn’t going to happen.
We found out later that this man works for the U.S. State Department. By design, it takes a lot of approvals for them to talk with anyone with a camera for good reason. I believe the relationship between media and government agencies in the United States have soured over the years because, one, the government can be hard to work with and may not relinquish information easily and two, media sometimes takes half of the information from the government and then makes a truthful, yet incomplete story from it. The lack of a seamless relationship between the two is resulting in our inability to get these incredible people on camera.
Regardless, I’m going to tell their stories anyway because what they have to say and what they are seeing is incredibly important to Afghanistan.
Before I dive into the intricacies of this man’s experiences, I’m going to make a quick note. The Afghan National Police are, as a whole, incapable for now. There are pockets of successes across the country, but every subject matter expert we’ve talked to, including the ANP chief at the mountain pass, agrees there is a lot of work and mentoring to be done with the ANP. Whether its corruption, lack of training lack of weapons or poor logistics, it’s all here and it’s on ISAF’s priority list.
Back with the man in the black hat, our conversation covered a range of very interesting topics, including his close relationships with village elders and his experiences training police in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s been in this country for about five years. I wish I could cover all of the topics, but I try to stick to one at a time and horde the rest for future travel days.
One of the most interesting stories he told us was about how he worked with the ANP a few years ago. It was just him and the police officers, lots of them. So he would work and train with them daily and end up in fights with them against anti-Afghan fighters. One success story he told us about was a time when he and his police officers were pinned down by the Taliban in a ditch. None of the police officers would get up and start fighting. He then jumped up himself and lead from the front and the ANP “kicked some serious *** that day.” When he told us this story his eyes filled with passion and he talked about how these Afghans are brave, they just need strong leadership to get them through tough situations. The same challenges can be seen in any of ISAF’s contributing nations, so much comes down to leadership. But leaders need to be well trained, experienced and intelligent. The ANP unit he was with was successful because he led them, and since those guys have now been through it, learned and understand how to operate, they can move on to help other ANP units.
He told us how ISAF gets training wrong sometimes by sitting the Afghans down and showing them PowerPoint slides and talking line by line through a translator. He said the key to training Afghans is to first teach them why they need to learn it.
He referenced one of his ANP classes he taught awhile ago. He was teaching them AK-47 basics. One of the students told him he didn’t need to learn anything about the AK-47 because his father was a Mujahadeen fighter. So he took the class out to the range, and asked the student to take some shots at a target, the shots were all over the place and the student understood why he needed the education. He also talked of other concepts, such as proving to the Afghans why the training is important and to also keep it fun. I wish the U.S. military schools I have attended throughout my career would listen to the man in the black hat, because it has takes an incredible amout of discipline for me to keep my eyes open.
It amazed me how simple the concepts were but how easy they could be looked over. I’ve seen both good and bad training during my travels around the country and I believe as time passes and the concepts of counter insurgency continue to trickle down from ISAF headquarters, the training will improve and the capability of the ANP will improve along with it.
The man in the black hat told us a lot of stories and shared with us a lot of experiences. I have them written in my notebook, I hope to share them later, because it was a rare glimpse into a very interesting Afghanistan perspective.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Forensic Science in Homicide Investigations
Editor's Note: Much of the discussion will be applicable to the investigation of terrorist incidents.
On December 17, 2009, Conversations with American Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature a discussion with Vernon J. Geberth, NYPD (ret.) on Forensic Science in Homicide Investigations.
Program Date: December 17, 2009
Program Time: 1700 hours, Pacific
Topic: Forensic Science in Homicide Investigations
Listen Live: www.americanheroesradio.com/forensic_science_homicide_investigations.html
About the Guest
Vernon Geberth is a retired lieutenant-commander of the New York Police Department. As the commanding officer of the Bronx Homicide Task Force, his investigators handled more than four hundred murder investigations every year. Vernon Geberth is recipient of over sixty awards for bravery and exceptional work during twenty-three years of service. He has personally investigated, supervised, assessed, researched and consulted on over eight thousand homicides.
Vernon Geberth has master's degrees in both psychology and professional studies, is a graduate of the FBI's National Academy. Over the past twenty-five years, he has taught over 50,000 police officers his comprehensive course in Practical Homicide Investigation.
Geberth’s book, Practical Homicide Investigation has been referred to as the "Bible of Homicide." His subsequent works, “The Practical Homicide Investigation Checklist and Field Guide” and “Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives,” demonstrate his professional ability and subject matter expert command over homicide investigations. In addition to his own works Geberth has been an editor in over forty other textbooks. He has devoted his life to the study of murder and was the first law enforcement professional to devise standard guidelines and protocols for proficient death inquiries. Currently he is president of P.H.I. Investigative Consultants, Inc., a New York-based corporation that provides state-of-the-art instruction and consultation regarding homicide investigations to police officers.
About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is Police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. American Heroes Radio brings you to the watering hole, where it is Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.
About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Public Safety Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
www.americanheroesradio.com/forensic_science_homicide_investigations.html
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
On December 17, 2009, Conversations with American Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature a discussion with Vernon J. Geberth, NYPD (ret.) on Forensic Science in Homicide Investigations.
Program Date: December 17, 2009
Program Time: 1700 hours, Pacific
Topic: Forensic Science in Homicide Investigations
Listen Live: www.americanheroesradio.com/forensic_science_homicide_investigations.html
About the Guest
Vernon Geberth is a retired lieutenant-commander of the New York Police Department. As the commanding officer of the Bronx Homicide Task Force, his investigators handled more than four hundred murder investigations every year. Vernon Geberth is recipient of over sixty awards for bravery and exceptional work during twenty-three years of service. He has personally investigated, supervised, assessed, researched and consulted on over eight thousand homicides.
Vernon Geberth has master's degrees in both psychology and professional studies, is a graduate of the FBI's National Academy. Over the past twenty-five years, he has taught over 50,000 police officers his comprehensive course in Practical Homicide Investigation.
Geberth’s book, Practical Homicide Investigation has been referred to as the "Bible of Homicide." His subsequent works, “The Practical Homicide Investigation Checklist and Field Guide” and “Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives,” demonstrate his professional ability and subject matter expert command over homicide investigations. In addition to his own works Geberth has been an editor in over forty other textbooks. He has devoted his life to the study of murder and was the first law enforcement professional to devise standard guidelines and protocols for proficient death inquiries. Currently he is president of P.H.I. Investigative Consultants, Inc., a New York-based corporation that provides state-of-the-art instruction and consultation regarding homicide investigations to police officers.
About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is Police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. American Heroes Radio brings you to the watering hole, where it is Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.
About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Public Safety Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.
Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
www.americanheroesradio.com/forensic_science_homicide_investigations.html
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
'Sons of Iraq' Transition to New Role, Purpose in Anbar
By Adam Weinstein
Special to American Forces Press Service
Dec. 30, 2008 - The once-restless and violent western Iraqi province of Anbar produced a grassroots security movement in June 2007 that came to be known as the "Awakening." The movement grew rapidly throughout the country with coalition help, speeding the nation's return to peace and stability. Today, the original Awakening movement members in Anbar -- now commonly known as the "Sons of Iraq" -- are preparing for another first: They are transferring from coalition to Iraqi control and preparing for new jobs in the service of their country.
"They have invested in the future of Iraq, and the government of Iraq is offering them hope and an opportunity to play yet another important role in the future of this country," Army Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kulmayer, chief of reconciliation and engagement for Multinational Corps Iraq, said. "They're going to be part of that."
The transfer process -- dubbed "the leading edge of reconciliation" by the corps' deputy commanding general, Army Maj. Gen. Michael Ferriter -- begins Feb. 1. On that date, Anbar's Sons of Iraq will join thousands of other members across the country, transferring from the coalition forces to the responsibility of the Iraqi government, which has promised them long-term employment in the army, police, civil service and other job fields.
The groundwork for the transfer was set in late December in a series of meetings between Sons of Iraq leaders and Iraqi government representatives.
"The government invited the [Sons of Iraq] leaders to stand up and ask questions," Kulmayer said. "And some of them ask pretty tough questions."
In Anbar, the Sons of Iraq leaders' concerns revolved around how their men would be paid and employed after coalition forces handed the reins over to the Iraqis. The registration process has been challenging, but all parties agree that the Sons of Iraq should be taken care of, given their sacrifices and contributions to normalcy and peace in western Iraq, officials said.
"In 2008, approximately 500 Sons of Iraq have been killed in the line of duty, and more than 750 wounded," Kulmayer said. "That's men out there risking their lives to secure and protect Iraqi citizens and their neighborhoods. It's a substantial sacrifice."
Judging from previous transfers, the sacrifices of Anbar's Sons of Iraq will not go unrewarded. In Baghdad -- home to more than half the nation's Sons of Iraq -- members already have received their second monthly paychecks from the Iraqi government. Many now are in training to be police officers or workers for a variety of civic projects and other meaningful jobs.
"We've learned a lot of lessons from Baghdad," retired Iraqi Army Maj. Gen. Muzhir al-Mawla, representative of Iraq's Implementation and Follow-Up Committee for National Reconciliation, said.
The transfer has special significance in Anbar province, where the original Awakening movement was born, officials said. In late 2006, Anbar was among the most violent areas of Iraq, with elements of al-Qaida in Iraq operating freely in populated areas.
Al-Qaida had launched a deadly campaign of intimidation and violence against Anbar's citizens, which included the indiscriminate killings of dozens of innocent Iraq men, women and children, as well as coalition and Iraqi security forces. It was here that dissatisfied Sunni tribal leaders first found common ground with the coalition against al-Qaida and started neighborhood watches to push the terrorist group out of their communities.
"We helped organize them and eventually began to fund them to provide critical infrastructure and security throughout Anbar," Ferriter said, "And it quickly spread to many of the other provinces."
Some of the Sons of Iraq previously had fought against the coalition. But Ferriter points out that "reconciliation is something you do with your adversaries, not your friends." And, as he told a group of Sons of Iraq leaders Dec. 20 in Anbar, "There is a common agreement: We don't want these men to turn to al-Qaida."
The Sons of Iraq volunteers' success in Anbar helped turn the tide of war in dramatic fashion. Today, Anbar averages less than one attack per day, and the province was returned to Iraqi control in September, officials said.
"The blows we have struck against al-Qaida in Anbar have implications far beyond Anbar's borders," White House officials said in a news release.
Kulmayer said he is confident that the Sons of Iraq transfer will be no less historic. "It's so important to look at this as a reconciliation issue," he noted. "If you go back to the beginning, you had insurgents who reconciled with the coalition. And now we're following that up with a reconciliation between the Sons of Iraq and their own government.
"That," he said, "is the way to put Iraq back together."
(Adam Weinstein works in the Multinational Corps Iraq public affairs office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Dec. 30, 2008 - The once-restless and violent western Iraqi province of Anbar produced a grassroots security movement in June 2007 that came to be known as the "Awakening." The movement grew rapidly throughout the country with coalition help, speeding the nation's return to peace and stability. Today, the original Awakening movement members in Anbar -- now commonly known as the "Sons of Iraq" -- are preparing for another first: They are transferring from coalition to Iraqi control and preparing for new jobs in the service of their country.
"They have invested in the future of Iraq, and the government of Iraq is offering them hope and an opportunity to play yet another important role in the future of this country," Army Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kulmayer, chief of reconciliation and engagement for Multinational Corps Iraq, said. "They're going to be part of that."
The transfer process -- dubbed "the leading edge of reconciliation" by the corps' deputy commanding general, Army Maj. Gen. Michael Ferriter -- begins Feb. 1. On that date, Anbar's Sons of Iraq will join thousands of other members across the country, transferring from the coalition forces to the responsibility of the Iraqi government, which has promised them long-term employment in the army, police, civil service and other job fields.
The groundwork for the transfer was set in late December in a series of meetings between Sons of Iraq leaders and Iraqi government representatives.
"The government invited the [Sons of Iraq] leaders to stand up and ask questions," Kulmayer said. "And some of them ask pretty tough questions."
In Anbar, the Sons of Iraq leaders' concerns revolved around how their men would be paid and employed after coalition forces handed the reins over to the Iraqis. The registration process has been challenging, but all parties agree that the Sons of Iraq should be taken care of, given their sacrifices and contributions to normalcy and peace in western Iraq, officials said.
"In 2008, approximately 500 Sons of Iraq have been killed in the line of duty, and more than 750 wounded," Kulmayer said. "That's men out there risking their lives to secure and protect Iraqi citizens and their neighborhoods. It's a substantial sacrifice."
Judging from previous transfers, the sacrifices of Anbar's Sons of Iraq will not go unrewarded. In Baghdad -- home to more than half the nation's Sons of Iraq -- members already have received their second monthly paychecks from the Iraqi government. Many now are in training to be police officers or workers for a variety of civic projects and other meaningful jobs.
"We've learned a lot of lessons from Baghdad," retired Iraqi Army Maj. Gen. Muzhir al-Mawla, representative of Iraq's Implementation and Follow-Up Committee for National Reconciliation, said.
The transfer has special significance in Anbar province, where the original Awakening movement was born, officials said. In late 2006, Anbar was among the most violent areas of Iraq, with elements of al-Qaida in Iraq operating freely in populated areas.
Al-Qaida had launched a deadly campaign of intimidation and violence against Anbar's citizens, which included the indiscriminate killings of dozens of innocent Iraq men, women and children, as well as coalition and Iraqi security forces. It was here that dissatisfied Sunni tribal leaders first found common ground with the coalition against al-Qaida and started neighborhood watches to push the terrorist group out of their communities.
"We helped organize them and eventually began to fund them to provide critical infrastructure and security throughout Anbar," Ferriter said, "And it quickly spread to many of the other provinces."
Some of the Sons of Iraq previously had fought against the coalition. But Ferriter points out that "reconciliation is something you do with your adversaries, not your friends." And, as he told a group of Sons of Iraq leaders Dec. 20 in Anbar, "There is a common agreement: We don't want these men to turn to al-Qaida."
The Sons of Iraq volunteers' success in Anbar helped turn the tide of war in dramatic fashion. Today, Anbar averages less than one attack per day, and the province was returned to Iraqi control in September, officials said.
"The blows we have struck against al-Qaida in Anbar have implications far beyond Anbar's borders," White House officials said in a news release.
Kulmayer said he is confident that the Sons of Iraq transfer will be no less historic. "It's so important to look at this as a reconciliation issue," he noted. "If you go back to the beginning, you had insurgents who reconciled with the coalition. And now we're following that up with a reconciliation between the Sons of Iraq and their own government.
"That," he said, "is the way to put Iraq back together."
(Adam Weinstein works in the Multinational Corps Iraq public affairs office.)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Coalition Forces Kill Terrorist, Detain 25 in Iraq Operations
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 21, 2008 - Coalition forces continued to degrade al-Qaida in Iraq networks yesterday and today, killing one terrorist and detaining 25 other suspects during operations throughout the country, military officials reported. Coalition forces killed a terrorist yesterday in Qayyarah, south of Mosul, during an operation targeting an alleged al-Qaida weapons facilitator. Reporting led forces to a residence in the city identified as the location of the wanted man. As coalition forces entered the building, a man inside reached for an AK-47 rifle and attempted to engage them. Perceiving hostile intent, forces engaged and killed the man, later identified as the wanted terrorist. Another suspect believed to be an associate of the wanted man was detained without further incident.
An alleged al-Qaida financier was captured yesterday in Tikrit, north of Baghdad. The wanted man also is reportedly associated with al-Qaida in Iraq's terrorist court system. One additional suspect was detained during the operation.
Coalition forces took aim at al-Qaida's central Iraq networks during an operation late yesterday near Abu Ghraib. There, forces detained five suspects believed to be associates of an alleged suicide bomber and administrative facilitator in the region.
Also yesterday, forces detained one man believed to be associated with Samarra al-Qaida leaders during an operation near Kifri, southeast of Kirkuk.
Forces continued targeting Samarra al-Qaida leaders early today in the Jalam Desert, north of Baghdad. That operation netted three suspects.
Two suspects believed to be associated with a regional al-Qaida leader were detained by coalition forces today in Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad.
Also today in Tarmiyah, forces detained three suspects believed to be associates of a wanted al-Qaida financier.
Coalition and Iraqi forces dealt another blow to al-Qaida's bombing networks in Salahuddin today. The combined force captured an alleged improvised explosive device and suicide bomber facilitator near Hawijah, southwest of Kirkuk. Three suspects believed to be the wanted man's associates also were detained.
Al-Qaida bombing networks in Mosul were also degraded today. There, forces detained four suspects during an operation targeting an alleged IED facilitator.
In other operations yesterday:
-- Coalition forces arrested an alleged Kataib Hezbollah special operations cell leader and detained two other suspects during an operation in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. Acting with a warrant issued in accordance with Iraqi law, coalition forces targeted the alleged cell leader, believed to be responsible for the July improvised rocket-assisted mortar attack in Adhamiyah. Coalition forces approached the suspected terrorist's residence in Adhamiyah and arrested the wanted man without incident. Forces also detained two of his associates, who are suspected of being Kataib Hezbollah terrorists.
-- Acting on intelligence information, coalition forces targeted an alleged finance manager for several terrorist network cells in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. Coalition forces approached a residence believed to be the location of the wanted man, where he was apprehended without incident, along with two associates.
-- In a separate operation conducted in Adhamiyah, forces targeted an individual believed to be involved in nefarious activities with leadership from two criminal networks, including special groups. Forces approached the suspect's residence in Adhamiyah and apprehended the suspected terrorist and two associates without incident.
-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained four suspected "special groups" criminals in Baghdad's Rashid district. Soldiers from Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted a combined patrol with Iraqi national Police officers from the 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, and detained four individuals after receiving a tip from an Iraqi citizen. The individuals are suspected of murder and roadside bomb attacks.
-- Iraqi security forces, alongside Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers, seized weapons and munitions in the Ghazaliyah and Ameriya districts of northwest Baghdad. During combined combat operations, Iraqi security forces serving with the 4th Battalion, 54th Brigade, and 2nd Battalion, 22nd Brigade, both of the 6th Iraqi Army Division, supported by the 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, operationally attached to the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, the 5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, and the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, both of the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, seized a total of five separate caches of various sizes. The largest cache consisted of 15 various sized mortar rounds, 12 AK-47 assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade warhead
In operations Dec. 19:
-- Iraqi security forces arrested two suspected criminals during combat operations in southern Baghdad's Rashid district. Iraqi Army soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 53rd Brigade, 14th Iraqi Army Division, arrested a suspected criminal in accordance with an outstanding warrant. Police officers from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, served a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal in the Furat community.
-- Soldiers serving with 5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, seized six AK-47s, a pistol, and a box containing an undetermined amount of ammunition in Baghdad's Ghazaliyah neighborhood.
-- Soldiers serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armor Division, found eight 57 mm projectiles south of Baghdad. An explosives ordnance disposal team responded to the area and destroyed the munitions.
-- Acting on a tip from a concerned citizen, soldiers serving with Company C, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered a cache north of Baghdad containing eight 125 mm mortars, two 42 mm mortars and five 40 mm high explosive anti-tank rounds. The seized munitions were later destroyed by an EOD team.
-- Soldiers serving with 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armor Division, uncovered two buried caches south of Baghdad. The munitions seized included two 100-pound propane tanks, an 80-pound propane tank, a 100-kilogram bomb, a 2.75-inch Flechette rocket, two 125 mm rounds, two mortars and 150 pounds of homemade explosives.
-- Soldiers serving with 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regt., 2nd
Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, found a cache containing a base plate and an anti-aircraft barrel, 570 rounds linked and 1,500 rounds unlinked of .50-caliber ammunition north of Baghdad.
-- Iraqi national Police serving with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st National Police Division, seized five automatic timer mines, two pounds of unknown bulk explosive material, 15 57 mm projectiles, a rifle and eight project boxes used in IEDs near the joint security station Tuwaitha south of Baghdad.
-- Iraqi Police officers from 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, patrolling with soldiers from Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, responded to a tip and detained a suspected criminal in the Abu T'shir community of Baghdad's Rashid district.
In operations Dec. 18:
-- National Police officers from 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, conducting a combined patrol with soldiers from Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found an RPG round in an Abu T'shir neighborhood of Baghdad's Rashid district.
-- Police officers from 2nd Battalion, 7th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, working with soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered an emplaced roadside bomb consisting of one anti-tank mine and a propane tank in the Masafee community. An Iraqi EOD team dismantled the bomb.
-- Police officers from 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, working with soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, responded to a tip and detained a suspected criminal in the Aamel community.
-- Soldiers serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armor Division, discovered a cache containing eight propane tanks wrapped in detonation cord.
-- Soldiers serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered a large cache north of Baghdad. The cache included 28 82 mm mortars, seven grenades of various sizes, a 60 mm mortar, an 82 mm mortar tube and stand, 14 high-explosive rockets of various sizes, two 57 mm projectiles, 19 39.5 mm mortar fuses, 2,640 rounds of 12.7 mm ammunition, 20 sticks of TNT, 20 pounds of PE-4 explosive material and various bomb-making materials.
-- Iraqi Army soldiers serving with 4th Battalion, 54th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and Iraqi Police from Ameriya found a weapons cache. The munitions seized included a 155 mm projectile, three rocket-propelled grenades, 20 blasting caps, six sticks of C-4 explosive, an RPG motor, 100 meters of detonation cord, and a V25 rocket fuse.
-- A suspected terrorist was apprehended and detained by soldiers from1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, in Khan Bani Sab. The individual detained is suspected to be involved in weapons trafficking, indirect fire attacks, and other acts of terrorism.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)
Dec. 21, 2008 - Coalition forces continued to degrade al-Qaida in Iraq networks yesterday and today, killing one terrorist and detaining 25 other suspects during operations throughout the country, military officials reported. Coalition forces killed a terrorist yesterday in Qayyarah, south of Mosul, during an operation targeting an alleged al-Qaida weapons facilitator. Reporting led forces to a residence in the city identified as the location of the wanted man. As coalition forces entered the building, a man inside reached for an AK-47 rifle and attempted to engage them. Perceiving hostile intent, forces engaged and killed the man, later identified as the wanted terrorist. Another suspect believed to be an associate of the wanted man was detained without further incident.
An alleged al-Qaida financier was captured yesterday in Tikrit, north of Baghdad. The wanted man also is reportedly associated with al-Qaida in Iraq's terrorist court system. One additional suspect was detained during the operation.
Coalition forces took aim at al-Qaida's central Iraq networks during an operation late yesterday near Abu Ghraib. There, forces detained five suspects believed to be associates of an alleged suicide bomber and administrative facilitator in the region.
Also yesterday, forces detained one man believed to be associated with Samarra al-Qaida leaders during an operation near Kifri, southeast of Kirkuk.
Forces continued targeting Samarra al-Qaida leaders early today in the Jalam Desert, north of Baghdad. That operation netted three suspects.
Two suspects believed to be associated with a regional al-Qaida leader were detained by coalition forces today in Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad.
Also today in Tarmiyah, forces detained three suspects believed to be associates of a wanted al-Qaida financier.
Coalition and Iraqi forces dealt another blow to al-Qaida's bombing networks in Salahuddin today. The combined force captured an alleged improvised explosive device and suicide bomber facilitator near Hawijah, southwest of Kirkuk. Three suspects believed to be the wanted man's associates also were detained.
Al-Qaida bombing networks in Mosul were also degraded today. There, forces detained four suspects during an operation targeting an alleged IED facilitator.
In other operations yesterday:
-- Coalition forces arrested an alleged Kataib Hezbollah special operations cell leader and detained two other suspects during an operation in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. Acting with a warrant issued in accordance with Iraqi law, coalition forces targeted the alleged cell leader, believed to be responsible for the July improvised rocket-assisted mortar attack in Adhamiyah. Coalition forces approached the suspected terrorist's residence in Adhamiyah and arrested the wanted man without incident. Forces also detained two of his associates, who are suspected of being Kataib Hezbollah terrorists.
-- Acting on intelligence information, coalition forces targeted an alleged finance manager for several terrorist network cells in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. Coalition forces approached a residence believed to be the location of the wanted man, where he was apprehended without incident, along with two associates.
-- In a separate operation conducted in Adhamiyah, forces targeted an individual believed to be involved in nefarious activities with leadership from two criminal networks, including special groups. Forces approached the suspect's residence in Adhamiyah and apprehended the suspected terrorist and two associates without incident.
-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained four suspected "special groups" criminals in Baghdad's Rashid district. Soldiers from Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted a combined patrol with Iraqi national Police officers from the 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, and detained four individuals after receiving a tip from an Iraqi citizen. The individuals are suspected of murder and roadside bomb attacks.
-- Iraqi security forces, alongside Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers, seized weapons and munitions in the Ghazaliyah and Ameriya districts of northwest Baghdad. During combined combat operations, Iraqi security forces serving with the 4th Battalion, 54th Brigade, and 2nd Battalion, 22nd Brigade, both of the 6th Iraqi Army Division, supported by the 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, operationally attached to the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, the 5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, and the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, both of the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, seized a total of five separate caches of various sizes. The largest cache consisted of 15 various sized mortar rounds, 12 AK-47 assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade warhead
In operations Dec. 19:
-- Iraqi security forces arrested two suspected criminals during combat operations in southern Baghdad's Rashid district. Iraqi Army soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 53rd Brigade, 14th Iraqi Army Division, arrested a suspected criminal in accordance with an outstanding warrant. Police officers from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, served a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal in the Furat community.
-- Soldiers serving with 5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, seized six AK-47s, a pistol, and a box containing an undetermined amount of ammunition in Baghdad's Ghazaliyah neighborhood.
-- Soldiers serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armor Division, found eight 57 mm projectiles south of Baghdad. An explosives ordnance disposal team responded to the area and destroyed the munitions.
-- Acting on a tip from a concerned citizen, soldiers serving with Company C, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered a cache north of Baghdad containing eight 125 mm mortars, two 42 mm mortars and five 40 mm high explosive anti-tank rounds. The seized munitions were later destroyed by an EOD team.
-- Soldiers serving with 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armor Division, uncovered two buried caches south of Baghdad. The munitions seized included two 100-pound propane tanks, an 80-pound propane tank, a 100-kilogram bomb, a 2.75-inch Flechette rocket, two 125 mm rounds, two mortars and 150 pounds of homemade explosives.
-- Soldiers serving with 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regt., 2nd
Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, found a cache containing a base plate and an anti-aircraft barrel, 570 rounds linked and 1,500 rounds unlinked of .50-caliber ammunition north of Baghdad.
-- Iraqi national Police serving with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st National Police Division, seized five automatic timer mines, two pounds of unknown bulk explosive material, 15 57 mm projectiles, a rifle and eight project boxes used in IEDs near the joint security station Tuwaitha south of Baghdad.
-- Iraqi Police officers from 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, patrolling with soldiers from Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, responded to a tip and detained a suspected criminal in the Abu T'shir community of Baghdad's Rashid district.
In operations Dec. 18:
-- National Police officers from 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, conducting a combined patrol with soldiers from Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found an RPG round in an Abu T'shir neighborhood of Baghdad's Rashid district.
-- Police officers from 2nd Battalion, 7th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, working with soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered an emplaced roadside bomb consisting of one anti-tank mine and a propane tank in the Masafee community. An Iraqi EOD team dismantled the bomb.
-- Police officers from 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, working with soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, responded to a tip and detained a suspected criminal in the Aamel community.
-- Soldiers serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armor Division, discovered a cache containing eight propane tanks wrapped in detonation cord.
-- Soldiers serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered a large cache north of Baghdad. The cache included 28 82 mm mortars, seven grenades of various sizes, a 60 mm mortar, an 82 mm mortar tube and stand, 14 high-explosive rockets of various sizes, two 57 mm projectiles, 19 39.5 mm mortar fuses, 2,640 rounds of 12.7 mm ammunition, 20 sticks of TNT, 20 pounds of PE-4 explosive material and various bomb-making materials.
-- Iraqi Army soldiers serving with 4th Battalion, 54th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and Iraqi Police from Ameriya found a weapons cache. The munitions seized included a 155 mm projectile, three rocket-propelled grenades, 20 blasting caps, six sticks of C-4 explosive, an RPG motor, 100 meters of detonation cord, and a V25 rocket fuse.
-- A suspected terrorist was apprehended and detained by soldiers from1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, in Khan Bani Sab. The individual detained is suspected to be involved in weapons trafficking, indirect fire attacks, and other acts of terrorism.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)
Friday, December 12, 2008
Emergency Response Units Won't Perform Law Enforcement, Official Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 12, 2008 - The Pentagon's three new rapid-response task forces will assist civil authorities during possible terrorist attacks or natural disasters, but they won't perform law enforcement missions, a senior Defense Department official said here yesterday. Some people have surfaced concerns that active-duty soldiers, who make up the core of the first 4,700-member joint task force established in early October, could be used to perform police functions, which would be in violation of the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and Americas' security affairs, told American Forces Press Service and Pentagon Channel reporters.
The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits active-duty military members from conducting domestic law enforcement operations.
"None of that is true," McHale said of public assertions that active-duty troops assigned to the task force will perform police duties. Instead, he said, the rapid-response units are "task-organized to deal with the technical and very challenging requirements associated with a contaminated environment."
The task force cited in public discussion, McHale said, was established Oct. 1 and is built around a core of active-duty soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Stewart, Ga. This task force, he said, falls under the control of U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command, U.S. Army North, in San Antonio.
Each task force will be capable of performing tasks such as medical response, decontamination, technical rescue, patient evacuation, and communications and logistics support, including air and land transportation assets for transport of supplies, people and equipment, according to U.S. Army North documents.
Plans are to stand up two more new joint task forces in 2010 and 2011, respectively, McHale said. These units, he said, will comprise mostly reserve-component personnel, mainly National Guard troops.
The new task forces would be ordered into action by the president following requests for disaster-relief assistance from state governors, McHale said.
In the event of civil disturbances and some other types of emergencies, McHale said, active U.S. military units could be ordered by the president to assist civil authorities establish order as part of the Garden Plot domestic security plan.
"There are [active] military units that are prepared, under law, to ensure constitutional rights and the enforcement of federal law, under the Insurrection Act, to be deployed for a domestic security mission," McHale said.
The last time Garden Plot was activated, McHale said, was to restore order during the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the trial and acquittal of some local police officers who had been charged with the beating of Rodney King. Federal troops also were employed during the 1950s and 1960s, he said, to ensure the civil rights of African-American citizens.
American Forces Press Service
Dec. 12, 2008 - The Pentagon's three new rapid-response task forces will assist civil authorities during possible terrorist attacks or natural disasters, but they won't perform law enforcement missions, a senior Defense Department official said here yesterday. Some people have surfaced concerns that active-duty soldiers, who make up the core of the first 4,700-member joint task force established in early October, could be used to perform police functions, which would be in violation of the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and Americas' security affairs, told American Forces Press Service and Pentagon Channel reporters.
The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits active-duty military members from conducting domestic law enforcement operations.
"None of that is true," McHale said of public assertions that active-duty troops assigned to the task force will perform police duties. Instead, he said, the rapid-response units are "task-organized to deal with the technical and very challenging requirements associated with a contaminated environment."
The task force cited in public discussion, McHale said, was established Oct. 1 and is built around a core of active-duty soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Stewart, Ga. This task force, he said, falls under the control of U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command, U.S. Army North, in San Antonio.
Each task force will be capable of performing tasks such as medical response, decontamination, technical rescue, patient evacuation, and communications and logistics support, including air and land transportation assets for transport of supplies, people and equipment, according to U.S. Army North documents.
Plans are to stand up two more new joint task forces in 2010 and 2011, respectively, McHale said. These units, he said, will comprise mostly reserve-component personnel, mainly National Guard troops.
The new task forces would be ordered into action by the president following requests for disaster-relief assistance from state governors, McHale said.
In the event of civil disturbances and some other types of emergencies, McHale said, active U.S. military units could be ordered by the president to assist civil authorities establish order as part of the Garden Plot domestic security plan.
"There are [active] military units that are prepared, under law, to ensure constitutional rights and the enforcement of federal law, under the Insurrection Act, to be deployed for a domestic security mission," McHale said.
The last time Garden Plot was activated, McHale said, was to restore order during the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the trial and acquittal of some local police officers who had been charged with the beating of Rodney King. Federal troops also were employed during the 1950s and 1960s, he said, to ensure the civil rights of African-American citizens.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Marines Encouraged by Iraqi Progress in Anbar, General Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 10, 2008 - Since Anbar province returned to Iraqi control, Iraqi security forces are taking more responsibility and U.S. Marines in western Iraq are increasingly performing an overwatch role, the deputy commander of Multinational Force West said today. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Martin Post, briefing Pentagon correspondents by satellite from Fallujah, said a very few foreign fighters are trying to infiltrate the country, and Iraqi forces are in the lead in trying to stop them.
The coalition leadership in Anbar province has been pleased "across the board" with Iraqi security forces, the general said. "We're most happy with the Iraqi army," he added. The Iraqi 1st and 7th divisions are based in the province.
Both divisions are so well-trained they are being used as force providers for other areas in the country. Division units are being used in Baghdad, Diyala province, Basra and Mosul. Post said about 60 percent of the Iraqi divisions from Anbar are actually working outside the province now, and "they are acquitting themselves very well."
The Iraqi police also are coming along. The general said the force is maturing and reaching the size and expertise needed to fulfill the duties of police as people in the west would see that role. Roughly 28,000 police officers serve in the province, up from 11,000 two years ago.
"They are making great strides," Post said. "Since we've turned over the security portfolio, ... we've seen them continue to prosper. And in some cases here just recently, they've asked us to continue to take a step back."
Border guards finish up the security triumvirate. "As we see it, that's really the last piece of the [Iraqi security forces] that needs the increased strength ... here in Anbar province," Post said.
The Marines are working to improve training standards for the border police and their logistics and sustainability capacity. "They're really the first line of defense here, when you're talking about whether it either be smuggling or foreign fighters or insurgents trying to get back and forth across the border," he said.
Entry control points in and around Ramadi and Fallujah now are exclusively the domain of the Iraqi police, for example. Marine units have all but pulled out of the cities in the province, and are in an oversight role with the Iraqis in the lead.
"We were waiting for the Iraqis to step forward and say, 'Hey, we have this and we've got it,'" he said. "We're very happy with the continued trends we see with the Iraqi police." Marine trainers continue to work with the Iraqi police, but even that number has dropped, Post noted.
This attitude is evident in normal operations. "Previously, if there was a [roadside bomb] event in Fallujah or Ramadi, they would call us first, and we would respond to it," Post said. Now, the Iraqis respond to incidents, he said.
In yet another sign of progress, the Marines are moving their headquarters out of Camp Fallujah to Al Asad Air Base farther west. Multinational Force West has reduced its ground forces by an Army brigade combat team and three Marine battalions. "We feel real comfortable right now here, at the end of 2008, with ... our force posture here on the ground," the general said.
Coalition forces in the command dropped from 34,000 at the height of the surge to 26,000 today. "We feel comfortable with that," the general said.
What happens next depends on the status of forces agreement between the United States and Iraq, Post said, explaining that military planners need to see what the final agreement will be before they can assess the way forward.
Post said the situation in the province is not fragile. Al-Qaida is marginalized in the province, he said, and the people of the province do not want them back.
"We have incidents out here where we believe [al-Qaida] is still trying to inject themselves when and where they can, and we stay very heavily engaged on that," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 10, 2008 - Since Anbar province returned to Iraqi control, Iraqi security forces are taking more responsibility and U.S. Marines in western Iraq are increasingly performing an overwatch role, the deputy commander of Multinational Force West said today. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Martin Post, briefing Pentagon correspondents by satellite from Fallujah, said a very few foreign fighters are trying to infiltrate the country, and Iraqi forces are in the lead in trying to stop them.
The coalition leadership in Anbar province has been pleased "across the board" with Iraqi security forces, the general said. "We're most happy with the Iraqi army," he added. The Iraqi 1st and 7th divisions are based in the province.
Both divisions are so well-trained they are being used as force providers for other areas in the country. Division units are being used in Baghdad, Diyala province, Basra and Mosul. Post said about 60 percent of the Iraqi divisions from Anbar are actually working outside the province now, and "they are acquitting themselves very well."
The Iraqi police also are coming along. The general said the force is maturing and reaching the size and expertise needed to fulfill the duties of police as people in the west would see that role. Roughly 28,000 police officers serve in the province, up from 11,000 two years ago.
"They are making great strides," Post said. "Since we've turned over the security portfolio, ... we've seen them continue to prosper. And in some cases here just recently, they've asked us to continue to take a step back."
Border guards finish up the security triumvirate. "As we see it, that's really the last piece of the [Iraqi security forces] that needs the increased strength ... here in Anbar province," Post said.
The Marines are working to improve training standards for the border police and their logistics and sustainability capacity. "They're really the first line of defense here, when you're talking about whether it either be smuggling or foreign fighters or insurgents trying to get back and forth across the border," he said.
Entry control points in and around Ramadi and Fallujah now are exclusively the domain of the Iraqi police, for example. Marine units have all but pulled out of the cities in the province, and are in an oversight role with the Iraqis in the lead.
"We were waiting for the Iraqis to step forward and say, 'Hey, we have this and we've got it,'" he said. "We're very happy with the continued trends we see with the Iraqi police." Marine trainers continue to work with the Iraqi police, but even that number has dropped, Post noted.
This attitude is evident in normal operations. "Previously, if there was a [roadside bomb] event in Fallujah or Ramadi, they would call us first, and we would respond to it," Post said. Now, the Iraqis respond to incidents, he said.
In yet another sign of progress, the Marines are moving their headquarters out of Camp Fallujah to Al Asad Air Base farther west. Multinational Force West has reduced its ground forces by an Army brigade combat team and three Marine battalions. "We feel real comfortable right now here, at the end of 2008, with ... our force posture here on the ground," the general said.
Coalition forces in the command dropped from 34,000 at the height of the surge to 26,000 today. "We feel comfortable with that," the general said.
What happens next depends on the status of forces agreement between the United States and Iraq, Post said, explaining that military planners need to see what the final agreement will be before they can assess the way forward.
Post said the situation in the province is not fragile. Al-Qaida is marginalized in the province, he said, and the people of the province do not want them back.
"We have incidents out here where we believe [al-Qaida] is still trying to inject themselves when and where they can, and we stay very heavily engaged on that," he said.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
U.S., Iraqi Forces Seize Weapons Caches, Detain Suspects
American Forces Press Service
Nov. 2, 2008 - Coalition and Iraqi forces seized weapons caches throughout and captured suspected terrorists in Baghdad during operations over the past several days. Yesterday, U.S. soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, joined Iraqi soldiers in seizing a cache north of Baghdad. The cache included 90 mm projectiles, 122 mm projectiles, a 120 mm mortar, powdered aluminum, explosives, sulfur, washing machine timers, batteries, radios, red detonation cord, and an assortment of insulated wires.
Less than an hour later, a tip from a concerned Iraqi citizen led U.S. soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, along with Iraqi Army troops, to a house in Kadhamiyah. In the house's courtyard the soldiers found an AK-47 rifle with full magazines, loose 7.62 mm rounds, binoculars, an Iraqi Army flak vest, a rocket-propelled grenade booster, grenades with fuses, and radios with chargers.
In other operations in Iraq yesterday:
-- A combined patrol Iraqi Army soldiers and members of the Iraqi national police detained three suspected criminals in Baghdad's Saydiyah community.
-- Members of the Iraqi national police discovered a munitions cache in an abandoned house in Baghdad's Risalah community. They found a 57 mm warhead, mortar fuses, a rocket fuse, blocks of plastic explosives and grenade fuses. An explosive ordnance disposal unit responded to properly dispose of the ammunition.
In operations in Iraq on Oct. 31:
-- On the evening of Oct. 31, Iraqi National police found a cache in the Riassa area of eastern Baghdad. The police officers seized one-pound sticks of high explosives, hand grenades with fuses, flares, rounds of small-arms ammunition, an AK-47 drum magazine and a magazine for 5.56 mm ammunition.
-- National policemen informed U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, that they had seized 60 mm mortars near Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah.
-- A tip from a concerned citizen led U.S. soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division's Company D, 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, to a cache in Baghdad's New Baghdad district. The cache included 60 mm rounds.
-- U.S. Soldiers serving with the 4th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, found 60 mm mortar rounds in the West Rashid district of Baghdad while searching abandoned houses.
-- A tip from an Iraqi citizen guided Iraqi Army soldiers to a weapons cache in Baghdad's Kadhamiyah district. The cache included mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenade rounds, grenades and RPG propellant rods.
-- A tip from an Iraqi citizen led Iraqi Army soldiers to a weapons cache in Kadhamiyah. The munitions, found in a trash pile, included a 30 mm high explosive round, 120 mm mortar round and a 10 array three-quarter-inch explosively formed penetrator.
-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, detained a suspect while on patrol in the Aamel community of Baghdad's Rashid district. They transported the detainee, who is suspected of planting roadside bombs, to a nearby combat outpost for processing.
-- Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, detained two suspected criminals in Baghdad's Abu T'shir neighborhood. The suspects are believed to be responsible for homemade bomb attacks against Iraqi security force and local citizens.
(From Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Nov. 2, 2008 - Coalition and Iraqi forces seized weapons caches throughout and captured suspected terrorists in Baghdad during operations over the past several days. Yesterday, U.S. soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, joined Iraqi soldiers in seizing a cache north of Baghdad. The cache included 90 mm projectiles, 122 mm projectiles, a 120 mm mortar, powdered aluminum, explosives, sulfur, washing machine timers, batteries, radios, red detonation cord, and an assortment of insulated wires.
Less than an hour later, a tip from a concerned Iraqi citizen led U.S. soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, along with Iraqi Army troops, to a house in Kadhamiyah. In the house's courtyard the soldiers found an AK-47 rifle with full magazines, loose 7.62 mm rounds, binoculars, an Iraqi Army flak vest, a rocket-propelled grenade booster, grenades with fuses, and radios with chargers.
In other operations in Iraq yesterday:
-- A combined patrol Iraqi Army soldiers and members of the Iraqi national police detained three suspected criminals in Baghdad's Saydiyah community.
-- Members of the Iraqi national police discovered a munitions cache in an abandoned house in Baghdad's Risalah community. They found a 57 mm warhead, mortar fuses, a rocket fuse, blocks of plastic explosives and grenade fuses. An explosive ordnance disposal unit responded to properly dispose of the ammunition.
In operations in Iraq on Oct. 31:
-- On the evening of Oct. 31, Iraqi National police found a cache in the Riassa area of eastern Baghdad. The police officers seized one-pound sticks of high explosives, hand grenades with fuses, flares, rounds of small-arms ammunition, an AK-47 drum magazine and a magazine for 5.56 mm ammunition.
-- National policemen informed U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, that they had seized 60 mm mortars near Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah.
-- A tip from a concerned citizen led U.S. soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division's Company D, 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, to a cache in Baghdad's New Baghdad district. The cache included 60 mm rounds.
-- U.S. Soldiers serving with the 4th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, found 60 mm mortar rounds in the West Rashid district of Baghdad while searching abandoned houses.
-- A tip from an Iraqi citizen guided Iraqi Army soldiers to a weapons cache in Baghdad's Kadhamiyah district. The cache included mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenade rounds, grenades and RPG propellant rods.
-- A tip from an Iraqi citizen led Iraqi Army soldiers to a weapons cache in Kadhamiyah. The munitions, found in a trash pile, included a 30 mm high explosive round, 120 mm mortar round and a 10 array three-quarter-inch explosively formed penetrator.
-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, detained a suspect while on patrol in the Aamel community of Baghdad's Rashid district. They transported the detainee, who is suspected of planting roadside bombs, to a nearby combat outpost for processing.
-- Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, detained two suspected criminals in Baghdad's Abu T'shir neighborhood. The suspects are believed to be responsible for homemade bomb attacks against Iraqi security force and local citizens.
(From Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Coalition Forces Capture Wanted Men, Additional Suspects
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 30, 2008 - Coalition forces further debilitated al-Qaida in Iraq networks during operations yesterday and today, capturing four wanted men and detaining six additional suspects, military officials reported. Today in Sadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, coalition forces captured a wanted man assessed to be associated with al-Qaida weapons and foreign terrorist facilitation networks in the region. One additional suspect was detained for further questioning.
Two more wanted men were captured by forces operating in Baghdad today. One of the men, believed to be an al-Qaida financier, surrendered to coalition forces and turned in his associate.
Forces in Mosul targeted al-Qaida's communication lines yesterday. A wanted man believed to be an al-Qaida courier associated with multiple regional leaders was captured along with three suspects during the operation.
Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained two suspected criminals during combat operations yesterday in southern Baghdad's Rashid district.
In the Jihad community, soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained and transported a suspected criminal to a nearby combat outpost. The suspect allegedly is responsible for indirect-fire and small-arms attacks, weapons trafficking and murder.
After receiving a tip from a local citizen, 4th Infantry Division soldiers from Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained a suspected criminal in the Abu Tshir community. The patrol seized 81 mm mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and rifles from his vehicle. The patrol returned with the detainee to a combat outpost for questioning.
In operations Oct. 28:.
-- In an operation in Khatoon, an Iraqi special weapons and tactics team captured a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader believed to be responsible for planning and coordinating attacks against Iraqi security forces. He also is suspected of providing financial backing, logistical support, and safe haven for al-Qaida fighters in Khatoon.
-- In Salamiyah, southeast of Mosul, Iraqi special operations forces arrested a suspected leader of an Islamic State of Iraq terrorist organization cell responsible for murdering many Iraqi police in Mosul. The suspect reportedly commands insurgents in the village.
-- Acting on a citizen tip, Iraqi National Police officer seized a munitions cache in eastern Baghdad. The cache consisted of three 81 mm mortar rounds, three 60 mm mortar rounds, four RPG launchers, five RPG warheads, three RPG fuse assemblies, about 400 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition and a Dragonov sniper rifle.
-- In Rashid, Iraqi special operations forces arrested a suspected criminal military cell leader on an Interior Ministry warrant.
In operations Oct. 27:
-- The Iraqi SWAT team in Kut detained two suspected criminal cell members. One of the individuals is said to be a facilitator who supplies weapons and provides financial support and a safe house, officials said. The other individual is believed to be an active member of a sniper cell.
-- In Baghdad, Iraqi soldiers captured a suspected Kataib Hezbollah militant said to have ties to an improvised rocket builder and facilitator. The individual is believed to be responsible for a rocket-assisted mortar attack on a joint security station in July. The suspect's cell also reportedly participated in RPG attacks in April and June. Kataib Hezbollah, also known as Hezbollah Brigades, is a terrorist group believed to receive funding, training, logistics and material support from Iran to attack Iraqi and coalition forces using what the military calls "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs – roadside bombs designed to pierce armor-hulled vehicles – and other weapons such as rocket-assisted mortars.
-- Baghdad National Emergency Response Brigade captured a suspected facilitator for the militant Kataib Hezbollah's improvised rocket-assisted mortars cell.
-- Iraqi special operations forces captured six suspected al-Qaida in Iraq cell members northwest of Mosul in Barzan. The cell members are suspected of bombing the Barzan police station earlier this month and attacking the Badoush Prison in March 2007.
-- A Tal Afar SWAT team captured four suspected al-Qaida members in the village of Ibrat Najar. The individuals are suspected of providing supplies to other al-Qaida terrorists in Mosul. Three Katusha rockets were found north of the village and were destroyed.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Oct. 30, 2008 - Coalition forces further debilitated al-Qaida in Iraq networks during operations yesterday and today, capturing four wanted men and detaining six additional suspects, military officials reported. Today in Sadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, coalition forces captured a wanted man assessed to be associated with al-Qaida weapons and foreign terrorist facilitation networks in the region. One additional suspect was detained for further questioning.
Two more wanted men were captured by forces operating in Baghdad today. One of the men, believed to be an al-Qaida financier, surrendered to coalition forces and turned in his associate.
Forces in Mosul targeted al-Qaida's communication lines yesterday. A wanted man believed to be an al-Qaida courier associated with multiple regional leaders was captured along with three suspects during the operation.
Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained two suspected criminals during combat operations yesterday in southern Baghdad's Rashid district.
In the Jihad community, soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained and transported a suspected criminal to a nearby combat outpost. The suspect allegedly is responsible for indirect-fire and small-arms attacks, weapons trafficking and murder.
After receiving a tip from a local citizen, 4th Infantry Division soldiers from Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained a suspected criminal in the Abu Tshir community. The patrol seized 81 mm mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and rifles from his vehicle. The patrol returned with the detainee to a combat outpost for questioning.
In operations Oct. 28:.
-- In an operation in Khatoon, an Iraqi special weapons and tactics team captured a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader believed to be responsible for planning and coordinating attacks against Iraqi security forces. He also is suspected of providing financial backing, logistical support, and safe haven for al-Qaida fighters in Khatoon.
-- In Salamiyah, southeast of Mosul, Iraqi special operations forces arrested a suspected leader of an Islamic State of Iraq terrorist organization cell responsible for murdering many Iraqi police in Mosul. The suspect reportedly commands insurgents in the village.
-- Acting on a citizen tip, Iraqi National Police officer seized a munitions cache in eastern Baghdad. The cache consisted of three 81 mm mortar rounds, three 60 mm mortar rounds, four RPG launchers, five RPG warheads, three RPG fuse assemblies, about 400 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition and a Dragonov sniper rifle.
-- In Rashid, Iraqi special operations forces arrested a suspected criminal military cell leader on an Interior Ministry warrant.
In operations Oct. 27:
-- The Iraqi SWAT team in Kut detained two suspected criminal cell members. One of the individuals is said to be a facilitator who supplies weapons and provides financial support and a safe house, officials said. The other individual is believed to be an active member of a sniper cell.
-- In Baghdad, Iraqi soldiers captured a suspected Kataib Hezbollah militant said to have ties to an improvised rocket builder and facilitator. The individual is believed to be responsible for a rocket-assisted mortar attack on a joint security station in July. The suspect's cell also reportedly participated in RPG attacks in April and June. Kataib Hezbollah, also known as Hezbollah Brigades, is a terrorist group believed to receive funding, training, logistics and material support from Iran to attack Iraqi and coalition forces using what the military calls "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs – roadside bombs designed to pierce armor-hulled vehicles – and other weapons such as rocket-assisted mortars.
-- Baghdad National Emergency Response Brigade captured a suspected facilitator for the militant Kataib Hezbollah's improvised rocket-assisted mortars cell.
-- Iraqi special operations forces captured six suspected al-Qaida in Iraq cell members northwest of Mosul in Barzan. The cell members are suspected of bombing the Barzan police station earlier this month and attacking the Badoush Prison in March 2007.
-- A Tal Afar SWAT team captured four suspected al-Qaida members in the village of Ibrat Najar. The individuals are suspected of providing supplies to other al-Qaida terrorists in Mosul. Three Katusha rockets were found north of the village and were destroyed.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Friday, October 17, 2008
Coalition Captures Suspects, Seizes Weapons
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 17, 2008 - Coalition forces in Iraq today captured two wanted men and one additional suspect during operations targeting terrorist networks in Baghdad and Kirkuk, military officials reported. Troops operating in Kirkuk captured a man wanted for alleged ties to al-Qaida in Iraq networks in the Sulayman Bak area. Additionally, he is believed to be associated with bomb operations in the region, officials said.
In Baghdad, forces captured another wanted man who intelligence reports suggest is a facilitator for a terrorist group associated with al-Qaida in Iraq, as well as an additional suspect, officials said.
In other operations, Iraqi police yesterday shot a suicide car bomber at a checkpoint outside of a police station near Balad. Police engaged the vehicle, based on a previous description of it, causing the driver to swerve into a concrete barrier. The car exploded on impact, wounding four police officers.
On Oct. 15, soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team captured a man in eastern Baghdad who is suspected of being associated with foreign terrorist groups in Iraq.
In other operations this week, coalition and Iraqi forces seized multiple weapons caches in and around Baghdad. The U.S. soldiers are with the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 14th Infantry Regiment, and the 10th Mountain Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, 66th Armor Regiment.
Their seizures included a rocket-propelled grenade and launcher, a 155 mm round, 20 AK=47 assault rifles, multiple grenades and ammunition and explosives. Coalition and Iraqi security forces have seized more than 2,100 weapons and munitions caches in the area, officials said.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Oct. 17, 2008 - Coalition forces in Iraq today captured two wanted men and one additional suspect during operations targeting terrorist networks in Baghdad and Kirkuk, military officials reported. Troops operating in Kirkuk captured a man wanted for alleged ties to al-Qaida in Iraq networks in the Sulayman Bak area. Additionally, he is believed to be associated with bomb operations in the region, officials said.
In Baghdad, forces captured another wanted man who intelligence reports suggest is a facilitator for a terrorist group associated with al-Qaida in Iraq, as well as an additional suspect, officials said.
In other operations, Iraqi police yesterday shot a suicide car bomber at a checkpoint outside of a police station near Balad. Police engaged the vehicle, based on a previous description of it, causing the driver to swerve into a concrete barrier. The car exploded on impact, wounding four police officers.
On Oct. 15, soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team captured a man in eastern Baghdad who is suspected of being associated with foreign terrorist groups in Iraq.
In other operations this week, coalition and Iraqi forces seized multiple weapons caches in and around Baghdad. The U.S. soldiers are with the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 14th Infantry Regiment, and the 10th Mountain Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, 66th Armor Regiment.
Their seizures included a rocket-propelled grenade and launcher, a 155 mm round, 20 AK=47 assault rifles, multiple grenades and ammunition and explosives. Coalition and Iraqi security forces have seized more than 2,100 weapons and munitions caches in the area, officials said.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Friday, October 10, 2008
Training Increases Confidence for Iraqi Police Officers
By Army 2nd Lt. Andrew Mark
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - As Iraqi security forces across northwestern Baghdad's Kadhamiyah district continue to take the lead in securing the local population, the effort of improving their skills continues simultaneously. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, spend many mornings honing the basic rifle marksmanship skills of the local police force in Kadhamiyah.
By focusing on these fundamentals, the policemen are acquiring the ability to use their weapons effectively, and their leaders are learning the techniques to plan for their subordinates' activities, said Army Staff Sgt. Michael Calderaro, platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. Their willingness to learn, particularly after a successful day of training, is obvious in their work, he noted.
"Each day, they bring an enthusiasm to the training that will enable them to get out on the streets and do what needs to be done to provide a safer community for the people of Kadhamiyah," Calderaro said.
The police station in Kadhamiyah is the hub of police activity here in the dense, urban neighborhoods surrounding the Shrine of the Imam Muza Kazim, a predominantly Shiite enclave that also is a political focal point in Baghdad.
Their primary mission will be to search vehicles during the religious ceremonies that draw millions of people each year to Kadhamiyah and to investigate criminal activity in the area and serve as traffic control officers.
The importance of this mission is what drives Lt. Col. Jasim, the commander of the police force, to seek every training opportunity available and to develop an effective partnership with coalition forces.
"Partnering with the coalition forces will allow us to better mentor our policemen in the basics," said Jasim, who added he has observed a remarkable transformation in the once-raw recruits.
"They know their weapons and the fundamentals of conducting checkpoints and searches," said Jasim, though he did acknowledge this process still is a work in progress.
Army Sgt. Jay Gillam, with Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, is responsible for leading instruction in basic rifle marksmanship.
"These guys are able because they are eager to learn," Gillam said. "They continue to improve with each training block we teach them."
The rapport between the soldiers and the Iraqi police officers is impressive, which was clear as Army Sgt. Spencer Arnold, who serves with Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, entertained the group through an interpreter and laughter broke out after the translation.
Despite the differences in their backgrounds, the common goal of securing their respective neighborhoods has united these men in ways neither might have imagined.
"We want them to succeed," Arnold said. "With their ongoing partnership, the security situation in Kadhamiyah can only grow more successful by the day."
(Army 2nd Lt. Andrew Mark serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 8, 2008 - As Iraqi security forces across northwestern Baghdad's Kadhamiyah district continue to take the lead in securing the local population, the effort of improving their skills continues simultaneously. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, spend many mornings honing the basic rifle marksmanship skills of the local police force in Kadhamiyah.
By focusing on these fundamentals, the policemen are acquiring the ability to use their weapons effectively, and their leaders are learning the techniques to plan for their subordinates' activities, said Army Staff Sgt. Michael Calderaro, platoon sergeant for 3rd Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. Their willingness to learn, particularly after a successful day of training, is obvious in their work, he noted.
"Each day, they bring an enthusiasm to the training that will enable them to get out on the streets and do what needs to be done to provide a safer community for the people of Kadhamiyah," Calderaro said.
The police station in Kadhamiyah is the hub of police activity here in the dense, urban neighborhoods surrounding the Shrine of the Imam Muza Kazim, a predominantly Shiite enclave that also is a political focal point in Baghdad.
Their primary mission will be to search vehicles during the religious ceremonies that draw millions of people each year to Kadhamiyah and to investigate criminal activity in the area and serve as traffic control officers.
The importance of this mission is what drives Lt. Col. Jasim, the commander of the police force, to seek every training opportunity available and to develop an effective partnership with coalition forces.
"Partnering with the coalition forces will allow us to better mentor our policemen in the basics," said Jasim, who added he has observed a remarkable transformation in the once-raw recruits.
"They know their weapons and the fundamentals of conducting checkpoints and searches," said Jasim, though he did acknowledge this process still is a work in progress.
Army Sgt. Jay Gillam, with Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, is responsible for leading instruction in basic rifle marksmanship.
"These guys are able because they are eager to learn," Gillam said. "They continue to improve with each training block we teach them."
The rapport between the soldiers and the Iraqi police officers is impressive, which was clear as Army Sgt. Spencer Arnold, who serves with Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, entertained the group through an interpreter and laughter broke out after the translation.
Despite the differences in their backgrounds, the common goal of securing their respective neighborhoods has united these men in ways neither might have imagined.
"We want them to succeed," Arnold said. "With their ongoing partnership, the security situation in Kadhamiyah can only grow more successful by the day."
(Army 2nd Lt. Andrew Mark serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.)
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Terrorist Detonates Suicide Vest in Mosul
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 5, 2008 - A terrorist detonated a suicide vest Oct. 5 in Mosul as coalition forces were trying to capture a wanted man. Coaliton forces entered a building looking for the man and were shot at by enemy fighters. One man in the building detonated the vest he was wearing.
No coalition force injuries were reported. Five suspected terrorists, along with three women and three children, were killed. Forces searched the building and found a weapons cache holding various small arms weapons and explosives.
In other operations today, forces near Baghdad captured two wanted men and detained two others believed to have ties to an al-Qaida in Iraq bomb network. Forces in Hawijah, southwest of Kirkuk, caught one terrorist suspect believed to be part of a bombing network in Diyala province.
In operations yesterday in Sulayman Bak, southeast of Kirkuk, coalition forces caught seven suspected terrorists. One man was wanted for connections to terrorists operating in the area.
Another wanted man was caught Oct. 4 in Sabah, west of Kirkuk. He is believed to be a member of a terrorist group associated with al-Qaida in Iraq.
U.S. soldiers also seized 20 weapons caches in operations west of Baghdad . Soldiers recovered more than 1,700 mortar rounds, 503 mortar fuses, three rocket launchers, six rockets, various ammunition, homemade explosive materials and bombs and nine SA-7 heat-seeking, shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles. Iraqi army soldiers found a house rigged with explosives. The soldiers seized the explosives and removed them from the area.
In other operations in Iraq Oct. 3:
-- Coalition forces killed a leader of one of al-Qaeda in Iraq's Baghdad networks thought to have masterminded some of the city's recent bombings. Mahir Ahmad Mahmud Judu' al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Rami, is believed to be the AQI emir of the Rusafa neighborhood of Baghdad.
Rami allegedly masterminded several car bombings including one last year that killed more than 200 people. In addition to car bombings, Abu Rami was believed to be a planner and participant in several kidnappings and videotaped executions.
-- U.S. soldiers nabbed a suspected special groups leader thought to be responsible for sectarian violence in the Risalah community.
-- In Quayyarah, south of Mosul, coalition forces caught two terrorism suspects.
-- U.S. soldiers recovered a weapons cache in the Kadamiyah district of Baghdad. The cache included a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, two RPG rounds, two RPG boosters, two AK-47s, a machine gun, and ammunition.
-- Iraqi national police also recovered a cache in Kadamiyah. The weapons included an Iranian- manufactured 85 mm PG-7 anti-tank heat rocket, rocket propellant, an RPG launcher and a hand grenade.
-- U.S. soldiers seized a cache in the Adhamiyah district of Baghdad. The munitions included several 60 mm high explosive mortar rounds, various sizes of rockets, an RPG, a machine gun, a sniper Rifle, an AK-47 and 300 rounds of ammunition.
-- Iraqi national police found five bags of homemade explosives, a fuse and other bomb making materials in the East Rashid district of Baghdad.
-- In the Furat community, Iraqi national police officers seized about 70 pounds of dynamite and four detonation fuses.
-- Iraqi army soldiers found four 60 mm mortar rounds, six mortar fuses, a 155 mm artillery round, and six hand grenades in the Saydiyah community.
In operations in Iraqi Oct. 2, Iraqi security forces caught six suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq in northern Iraq. One team captured two suspects in Muqdadiyah. In east Mosul, Iraqi Forces captured an alleged AQI cell leader. Also, Iraqi forces caught three suspected terrorists in Dojima.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq releases.)
Oct. 5, 2008 - A terrorist detonated a suicide vest Oct. 5 in Mosul as coalition forces were trying to capture a wanted man. Coaliton forces entered a building looking for the man and were shot at by enemy fighters. One man in the building detonated the vest he was wearing.
No coalition force injuries were reported. Five suspected terrorists, along with three women and three children, were killed. Forces searched the building and found a weapons cache holding various small arms weapons and explosives.
In other operations today, forces near Baghdad captured two wanted men and detained two others believed to have ties to an al-Qaida in Iraq bomb network. Forces in Hawijah, southwest of Kirkuk, caught one terrorist suspect believed to be part of a bombing network in Diyala province.
In operations yesterday in Sulayman Bak, southeast of Kirkuk, coalition forces caught seven suspected terrorists. One man was wanted for connections to terrorists operating in the area.
Another wanted man was caught Oct. 4 in Sabah, west of Kirkuk. He is believed to be a member of a terrorist group associated with al-Qaida in Iraq.
U.S. soldiers also seized 20 weapons caches in operations west of Baghdad . Soldiers recovered more than 1,700 mortar rounds, 503 mortar fuses, three rocket launchers, six rockets, various ammunition, homemade explosive materials and bombs and nine SA-7 heat-seeking, shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles. Iraqi army soldiers found a house rigged with explosives. The soldiers seized the explosives and removed them from the area.
In other operations in Iraq Oct. 3:
-- Coalition forces killed a leader of one of al-Qaeda in Iraq's Baghdad networks thought to have masterminded some of the city's recent bombings. Mahir Ahmad Mahmud Judu' al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Rami, is believed to be the AQI emir of the Rusafa neighborhood of Baghdad.
Rami allegedly masterminded several car bombings including one last year that killed more than 200 people. In addition to car bombings, Abu Rami was believed to be a planner and participant in several kidnappings and videotaped executions.
-- U.S. soldiers nabbed a suspected special groups leader thought to be responsible for sectarian violence in the Risalah community.
-- In Quayyarah, south of Mosul, coalition forces caught two terrorism suspects.
-- U.S. soldiers recovered a weapons cache in the Kadamiyah district of Baghdad. The cache included a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, two RPG rounds, two RPG boosters, two AK-47s, a machine gun, and ammunition.
-- Iraqi national police also recovered a cache in Kadamiyah. The weapons included an Iranian- manufactured 85 mm PG-7 anti-tank heat rocket, rocket propellant, an RPG launcher and a hand grenade.
-- U.S. soldiers seized a cache in the Adhamiyah district of Baghdad. The munitions included several 60 mm high explosive mortar rounds, various sizes of rockets, an RPG, a machine gun, a sniper Rifle, an AK-47 and 300 rounds of ammunition.
-- Iraqi national police found five bags of homemade explosives, a fuse and other bomb making materials in the East Rashid district of Baghdad.
-- In the Furat community, Iraqi national police officers seized about 70 pounds of dynamite and four detonation fuses.
-- Iraqi army soldiers found four 60 mm mortar rounds, six mortar fuses, a 155 mm artillery round, and six hand grenades in the Saydiyah community.
In operations in Iraqi Oct. 2, Iraqi security forces caught six suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq in northern Iraq. One team captured two suspects in Muqdadiyah. In east Mosul, Iraqi Forces captured an alleged AQI cell leader. Also, Iraqi forces caught three suspected terrorists in Dojima.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq releases.)
Friday, October 03, 2008
Police in Iraq's Wasit Province Work to Change Image, Focus
By Army Sgt. Daniel T. West
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 3, 2008 - Police in Iraq's Wasit province are transforming their force from a paramilitary Police force to a more traditional one, changing an organizational climate left over from Saddam Hussein's regime. The restructuring, a directive from the Iraqi Interior Ministry, aims to place police officers in positions that exploit their greatest strengths.
"We assign [police officers] with military backgrounds to the special response teams and the checkpoints," Brig. Gen. Alawy Hussein Alsaray, of the Iraqi Police, said. "Those who have been trained solely as police officers are assigned to the community police stations. That way, those with a military background work in the areas that are most military-like. The others are assigned to investigations and other traditional Police roles."
This method is effective because many of the police officers are former soldiers, said Army Sgt. Peter Klementowski, 511th military Police Company, an Iraqi police trainer.
"Placing the military minds in the [special response teams] is effective because they play a more military role, are heavily armed and [are] trained in urban warfare tactics," Klementowski said. "The traditional role, the neighborhood stations, is to be visible every day and to interact with the population. These should be roles for new officers, those brought up in the Police system."
Army Capt. Jess Traver, 511th military Police Company commander, said he and his soldiers are helping the Iraqi Police change their image, focusing on community policing, interacting with the community and developing a visible values system that emphasizes duty, commitment and honesty.
"Under Saddam, the Police were a paramilitary force that enforced the will of the executive branch," Klementowski said. "When people look at them, they see a remnant of Saddam's regime, responsible for terror and torture."
To change the way they are viewed by the community, the Police have reached out to the community by increasing their patrols and their visibility at the checkpoints, Traver noted.
"They are also participating in community policing events," Klementowski said. "They are reaching out to the community through soccer [and] expositions showing their work, and some stations are inviting people into the stations to show them what it's like to be [police officers]."
Traver praised the police officers' efforts to change their image with the people they serve. "They are making progress, and their leadership is making the push to change the community's perspective," he said. "They are on the right track."
(Army Sgt. Daniel T. West serves in the Multinational Division Center Public Affairs Office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Oct. 3, 2008 - Police in Iraq's Wasit province are transforming their force from a paramilitary Police force to a more traditional one, changing an organizational climate left over from Saddam Hussein's regime. The restructuring, a directive from the Iraqi Interior Ministry, aims to place police officers in positions that exploit their greatest strengths.
"We assign [police officers] with military backgrounds to the special response teams and the checkpoints," Brig. Gen. Alawy Hussein Alsaray, of the Iraqi Police, said. "Those who have been trained solely as police officers are assigned to the community police stations. That way, those with a military background work in the areas that are most military-like. The others are assigned to investigations and other traditional Police roles."
This method is effective because many of the police officers are former soldiers, said Army Sgt. Peter Klementowski, 511th military Police Company, an Iraqi police trainer.
"Placing the military minds in the [special response teams] is effective because they play a more military role, are heavily armed and [are] trained in urban warfare tactics," Klementowski said. "The traditional role, the neighborhood stations, is to be visible every day and to interact with the population. These should be roles for new officers, those brought up in the Police system."
Army Capt. Jess Traver, 511th military Police Company commander, said he and his soldiers are helping the Iraqi Police change their image, focusing on community policing, interacting with the community and developing a visible values system that emphasizes duty, commitment and honesty.
"Under Saddam, the Police were a paramilitary force that enforced the will of the executive branch," Klementowski said. "When people look at them, they see a remnant of Saddam's regime, responsible for terror and torture."
To change the way they are viewed by the community, the Police have reached out to the community by increasing their patrols and their visibility at the checkpoints, Traver noted.
"They are also participating in community policing events," Klementowski said. "They are reaching out to the community through soccer [and] expositions showing their work, and some stations are inviting people into the stations to show them what it's like to be [police officers]."
Traver praised the police officers' efforts to change their image with the people they serve. "They are making progress, and their leadership is making the push to change the community's perspective," he said. "They are on the right track."
(Army Sgt. Daniel T. West serves in the Multinational Division Center Public Affairs Office.)
CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- October 3, 2008
Crucell [a company] receives NIAID[National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] /NIH [National Institutes of Health] contract for development of Ebola and Marburg vaccines
"Dutch biopharma company Crucell N.V. […] today announced that it received a National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) contract aimed at advancing the development of a multivalent filovirus vaccine that includes both Ebola and Marburg viruses. The contract provides funding of up to $30 million, with additional options that may be triggered at the discretion of the NIH worth a further $40 million. […] Crucell will be the primary contractor with additional services being supplied by the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, located in San Antonio, Texas and Quintiles Guys Drug Research Unit, located in London." (Red Orbit; 03Oct08) http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1576640/crucell_receives_niaidnih_contract_for_development_of_ebola_and_marburg/
If bioterrorists strike, letter carriers might deliver antibiotics
"[…] Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt yesterday proposed a solution to one of the bigger challenges in responding to an anthrax bioterrorism attack -- how to deliver protective antibiotics to tens of thousands of people overnight. The tentative answer: have the mailman (and -woman) do the job. As an incentive to the letter carriers -- who would be volunteers -- the government would issue them in advance an antibiotic supply large enough to treat themselves and their families. They would also be accompanied by police officers on their rounds[…] The strategy has the full support of the Postal Service and its unions, spokesmen said."
(WashingtonPost.com; 02Oct08; David Brown) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/01/AR2008100102929_pf.html
Rethinking who should be considered 'essential' during a pandemic flu outbreak
"Not only are doctors, nurses, and firefighter essential during a severe pandemic influenza outbreak. So, too, are truck drivers, communications personnel, and utility workers. That's the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins University article to be published in the journal of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism. The report, led by Nancy Kass, Sc.D, Deputy Director of Public Health for the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, provides ethical guidance for pandemic planning that ensures a skeletal infrastructure remain intact at all times. Dr. Kass says, ‘when preparing for a severe pandemic flu it is crucial for leaders to recognize that if the public has limited or no access to food, water, sewage systems, fuel and communications, the secondary consequences may cause greater sickness, death and social breakdown than the virus itself.’" (Phys Org; 02Oct08;
Source: Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics) http://www.physorg.com/news142173611.html
U.S. Government to purchase additional 14.5 million doses of BioThrax under new contract valued at up to $404 Million
"Emergent BioSolutions Inc. […] announced today that it has signed a new, multi-year, firm fixed price contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to supply an additional 14.5 million doses of BioThrax […], its FDA licensed anthrax vaccine, for inclusion in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). The total value of this follow-on contract is between $364 million and $404 million, with the higher amount tied to the delivery of product having four-year expiry dating." (Pharma Live; 01Oct08) http://www.pharmalive.com/News/index.cfm?articleid=574152&categoryid=10
Indian co. Panacea enters into alliance with US-based Pharmathene
"Indian vaccine manufacturer Panacea Biotec on Wednesday said it has entered into a strategic alliance with US-based PharmAthene and will invest US$13.1 million dollars in it. The transaction is expected to close by October 20, 2008, it added. […] PharmAthene is a biodefense company engaged in developing medical products against biological and chemical weapons. Panacea Biotec is the second largest vaccine manufacturer in India."(TradingMarkets; 02Oct08) http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1915610/
3 due in court charged with publisher attack plot
"Three men charged with plotting to attack the publisher of a novel about the wife of the Prophet Muhammad are due in court in London. Ali Beheshti, Abrar Mirza and Abbas Taj were charged late Thursday with plotting to damage the offices of Gordon Square publishers. Beheshti was also charged with possession of a weapon designed or adapted for the discharge of a noxious liquid or gas. The three men were arrested early Sept. 27 under anti-Terrorism laws, but were not charged with any terrorist offenses."
(Associated Press; 03Oct08)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmhSP2lwNIHmUPBS9smXCM45cdJgD93IVI200
Study: weapons waste can be safely moved [Kentucky]
"Waste left over from chemical weapons disposal at the Blue Grass Army Depot is safe to ship off-site, according to a study released Monday from the National Research Council (NRC) committee. The experience to date with the off-site shipment and treatment of mustard and nerve agent hydrolysates from (other chemical weapons disposal sites) indicates that off-site transportation and disposal of these materials is a safe and technically viable course of action, the report states." (The Richmond Register; 01Oct08; Ronica Shannon) http://www.richmondregister.com/localnews/local_story_276075441.html
Russia: Chemical weapons disposal site to be launched in March 2009
"A regional commission for scrapping chemical weapons in Kirov Region has examined the readiness of the Maradykovskiy chemical weapons disposal site to launch its second phase in March 2009, the press centre of the regional government said on 30 September. The second stage facilities are equipped to scrap ammunition filled with the toxic substances sarin and soman. The remaining ammunition filled with VX gas is being scrapped at Maradykovskiy, the press centre said. At the same time, equipment is being assembled at all facilities that will be used to scrap sarin and soman. Testing and commissioning work will begin on 1 December 2008 and will be completed by March 2009." (RedOrbit; 01Oct08; Source: Interfax) http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1574176/russia_chemical_weapons_disposal_site_to_be_launched_in_march/#
$12 million approved for US 25 road work [Kentucky]
"Congress has approved $12 million for the widening of [highway] US 25 from the EKU (Eastern Kentucky University) Bypass to the KY 421 split, also known as the ‘Defense Access Road,’ by those associated with the chemical weapons destruction project at the Blue Grass Army Depot. […] The completed project for US 25 is estimated to cost about $28.5 million." (Richmond Register; 02Oct08; Ronica Shannon) http://www.richmondregister.com/localnews/local_story_276075334.html
Mobile, networked radiation detectors help the law find dirty bombs
"What do you get when you cross California nuclear chemists with New Jersey policemen? A mobile, and wirelessly networked, radiation detector jammed into the trunk of a Chevy Suburban called the RadTruck. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and their business partners, Textron Defense Systems, demoed the $250,000 trucks yesterday to reporters and revealed they'd been patrolling the streets and sensitive infrastructure of Jersey for the past year. RadTrucks are able to identify radioactive sources as small as a grain of sand within a dozen feet of its side-mounted detectors while traveling at 45 miles per hour, which makes it particularly useful for monitoring highways." (Wired; 02Oct08; Alexis Madrigal)
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10/livermore-calif.html
Optical material could enable universal laser
"A new optical fiber material could enable laser-based devices to be built operating at multiple frequencies. The new material--cesium zirconium phosphorus selenium (CsZrPSe6)--can add, subtract and double laser beam wavelengths, enabling devices with two laser sources to produce many usable wavelengths. […] Argonne researchers claim the new technology could be used in sensors that detect biological and chemical weapons." (EE Times; 02Oct08; R. Colin Johnson)
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210605464
CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD Terrorism.
"Dutch biopharma company Crucell N.V. […] today announced that it received a National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) contract aimed at advancing the development of a multivalent filovirus vaccine that includes both Ebola and Marburg viruses. The contract provides funding of up to $30 million, with additional options that may be triggered at the discretion of the NIH worth a further $40 million. […] Crucell will be the primary contractor with additional services being supplied by the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, located in San Antonio, Texas and Quintiles Guys Drug Research Unit, located in London." (Red Orbit; 03Oct08) http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1576640/crucell_receives_niaidnih_contract_for_development_of_ebola_and_marburg/
If bioterrorists strike, letter carriers might deliver antibiotics
"[…] Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt yesterday proposed a solution to one of the bigger challenges in responding to an anthrax bioterrorism attack -- how to deliver protective antibiotics to tens of thousands of people overnight. The tentative answer: have the mailman (and -woman) do the job. As an incentive to the letter carriers -- who would be volunteers -- the government would issue them in advance an antibiotic supply large enough to treat themselves and their families. They would also be accompanied by police officers on their rounds[…] The strategy has the full support of the Postal Service and its unions, spokesmen said."
(WashingtonPost.com; 02Oct08; David Brown) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/01/AR2008100102929_pf.html
Rethinking who should be considered 'essential' during a pandemic flu outbreak
"Not only are doctors, nurses, and firefighter essential during a severe pandemic influenza outbreak. So, too, are truck drivers, communications personnel, and utility workers. That's the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins University article to be published in the journal of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism. The report, led by Nancy Kass, Sc.D, Deputy Director of Public Health for the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, provides ethical guidance for pandemic planning that ensures a skeletal infrastructure remain intact at all times. Dr. Kass says, ‘when preparing for a severe pandemic flu it is crucial for leaders to recognize that if the public has limited or no access to food, water, sewage systems, fuel and communications, the secondary consequences may cause greater sickness, death and social breakdown than the virus itself.’" (Phys Org; 02Oct08;
Source: Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics) http://www.physorg.com/news142173611.html
U.S. Government to purchase additional 14.5 million doses of BioThrax under new contract valued at up to $404 Million
"Emergent BioSolutions Inc. […] announced today that it has signed a new, multi-year, firm fixed price contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to supply an additional 14.5 million doses of BioThrax […], its FDA licensed anthrax vaccine, for inclusion in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). The total value of this follow-on contract is between $364 million and $404 million, with the higher amount tied to the delivery of product having four-year expiry dating." (Pharma Live; 01Oct08) http://www.pharmalive.com/News/index.cfm?articleid=574152&categoryid=10
Indian co. Panacea enters into alliance with US-based Pharmathene
"Indian vaccine manufacturer Panacea Biotec on Wednesday said it has entered into a strategic alliance with US-based PharmAthene and will invest US$13.1 million dollars in it. The transaction is expected to close by October 20, 2008, it added. […] PharmAthene is a biodefense company engaged in developing medical products against biological and chemical weapons. Panacea Biotec is the second largest vaccine manufacturer in India."(TradingMarkets; 02Oct08) http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1915610/
3 due in court charged with publisher attack plot
"Three men charged with plotting to attack the publisher of a novel about the wife of the Prophet Muhammad are due in court in London. Ali Beheshti, Abrar Mirza and Abbas Taj were charged late Thursday with plotting to damage the offices of Gordon Square publishers. Beheshti was also charged with possession of a weapon designed or adapted for the discharge of a noxious liquid or gas. The three men were arrested early Sept. 27 under anti-Terrorism laws, but were not charged with any terrorist offenses."
(Associated Press; 03Oct08)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmhSP2lwNIHmUPBS9smXCM45cdJgD93IVI200
Study: weapons waste can be safely moved [Kentucky]
"Waste left over from chemical weapons disposal at the Blue Grass Army Depot is safe to ship off-site, according to a study released Monday from the National Research Council (NRC) committee. The experience to date with the off-site shipment and treatment of mustard and nerve agent hydrolysates from (other chemical weapons disposal sites) indicates that off-site transportation and disposal of these materials is a safe and technically viable course of action, the report states." (The Richmond Register; 01Oct08; Ronica Shannon) http://www.richmondregister.com/localnews/local_story_276075441.html
Russia: Chemical weapons disposal site to be launched in March 2009
"A regional commission for scrapping chemical weapons in Kirov Region has examined the readiness of the Maradykovskiy chemical weapons disposal site to launch its second phase in March 2009, the press centre of the regional government said on 30 September. The second stage facilities are equipped to scrap ammunition filled with the toxic substances sarin and soman. The remaining ammunition filled with VX gas is being scrapped at Maradykovskiy, the press centre said. At the same time, equipment is being assembled at all facilities that will be used to scrap sarin and soman. Testing and commissioning work will begin on 1 December 2008 and will be completed by March 2009." (RedOrbit; 01Oct08; Source: Interfax) http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1574176/russia_chemical_weapons_disposal_site_to_be_launched_in_march/#
$12 million approved for US 25 road work [Kentucky]
"Congress has approved $12 million for the widening of [highway] US 25 from the EKU (Eastern Kentucky University) Bypass to the KY 421 split, also known as the ‘Defense Access Road,’ by those associated with the chemical weapons destruction project at the Blue Grass Army Depot. […] The completed project for US 25 is estimated to cost about $28.5 million." (Richmond Register; 02Oct08; Ronica Shannon) http://www.richmondregister.com/localnews/local_story_276075334.html
Mobile, networked radiation detectors help the law find dirty bombs
"What do you get when you cross California nuclear chemists with New Jersey policemen? A mobile, and wirelessly networked, radiation detector jammed into the trunk of a Chevy Suburban called the RadTruck. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and their business partners, Textron Defense Systems, demoed the $250,000 trucks yesterday to reporters and revealed they'd been patrolling the streets and sensitive infrastructure of Jersey for the past year. RadTrucks are able to identify radioactive sources as small as a grain of sand within a dozen feet of its side-mounted detectors while traveling at 45 miles per hour, which makes it particularly useful for monitoring highways." (Wired; 02Oct08; Alexis Madrigal)
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10/livermore-calif.html
Optical material could enable universal laser
"A new optical fiber material could enable laser-based devices to be built operating at multiple frequencies. The new material--cesium zirconium phosphorus selenium (CsZrPSe6)--can add, subtract and double laser beam wavelengths, enabling devices with two laser sources to produce many usable wavelengths. […] Argonne researchers claim the new technology could be used in sensors that detect biological and chemical weapons." (EE Times; 02Oct08; R. Colin Johnson)
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210605464
CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD Terrorism.
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