Editor''s Note: Many of technologies are being used for domestic counterterrorism and homeland security.
NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, July 5, 2007
"Criminal Database Timed Out"
St. Petersburg Times (FL) (07/02/07) P. 1PAC; Thalji, Jamal
The Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS), the outdated criminal courts database in Pasco County, Fla., is being replaced. Though it is too soon for Pasco authorities to predict how long it will be or what the price of replacement is, it is known the new system will be financed by state-enforced recording charges that pay for criminal justice computer systems. "It's an old mainframe, it's an old language, it's an old support system, " noted Pasco director of court services Rosalyn Fenton. "We're looking at a lot of functionality that this system cannot support." The present CJIS system in Pasco County stores case numbers, hearing data, sentences, and court appearance appointments. Police officers, attorneys, judges, and the public use it on a daily basis. The new system needs to be Web-based, with up-to-date servers operating current software utilizing strong computer chips and vast hard drives. It will also need to be adaptable to the latest record-keeping technology. http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/02/Pasco/Criminal_database_tim.shtml
"Murder, She Texted: Wireless Messaging Used to Fight Crime"
Wall Street Journal (07/02/07) P. B1; Yuan, Li
Text messaging is the latest trend to involve law enforcement, as worldwide agencies are employing the cell phone option to help receive tips for cases. The Boston Police Department has initiated "Text a Tip" to promote the assistance of young people, who tend to text the most. Individuals can anonymously text "TIP" to 27463 (CRIME) and then receive messages from the number asking for specifics about the location, suspect, and other factors involving a crime. At Wisconsin-based Einstein Wireless, an emergency alert system that relies on text messaging is offered in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, while California Lt. Governor John Garamendi has proposed a similar text-based emergency citizen for residents. The cost of the service and privacy issues must still be sorted out by officials. Washington, D.C., and Westchester, N.Y., are among cities offering citizens the choice of receiving crime alerts via their cell phones.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118334106678254898-wnc
8J8WIHt1FXcFZRHOVYUcKBXU_20070731.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
"Jail Task Force"
Flint Journal (MI) (07/01/07) P. C2
The editors of the Flint Journal write that Genesee County's overcrowded prison is just one of the many public problems that go unfixed in Flint, Mich., because a solution is regarded as too hard, not worth spending money on over the short term, or carries too much political risk. "The result is long-term conditions that cripple the community in ways we might not imagine, but all having to do with a lower quality of life and lack of opportunity," the editors state. For almost 20 years, the Genesee County Jail has been one of those problems, the editors point out, even though it was reconstructed to replace a building so below standard that a prisoner's lawsuit required its replacement. The editors stress that complaints by law enforcement and others have not yielded real results, and the primary objective has been to try and keep a lid on the situation. At the very least, the editors write, fixing the problem may mandate increased utilization of technology, with "more [people] in custody put on tethers," and an improvement of computer software to better oversee the inmate population. It is important that everyone realizes that Flint's crime rate must be reduced as soon as possible, both to protect people and to help improve the region's image, the editors say. Though a task force has been established to deal with the problem, if it "can't accomplish this, it won't have done its job," the editors conclude.
http://www.mlive.com/enter/index.ssf?/flint/stories/index.ssf%3f/
base/news-3/118329241958520.xml&coll=5
"LV Police to Post Cameras"
Las Vegas Review-Journal (06/29/07) P. 1B; Kihara, David
As of August, surveillance cameras will be in place at Las Vegas' Fremont and 15th Streets. The high-crime area will be monitored under a three-month pilot program to cut such activities as robbery and drug dealing that have made the area notorious. Police Deputy Chief Gary Schofield says that having law enforcement monitor a high-crime area is a better option than "putting a police officer on every corner" in crime-ridden areas. Yet Nevada's ACLU says the move is a privacy invasion and police are taking a "shortcut" to crime. "When you know there are cameras watching your every move, it changes the way you experience being in public," says ACLU executive director Gary Peck. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice, surveillance cameras have been linked to cutting down crime in certain locales. The cameras have panning, zooming, and tilting capabilities and recorded images will be kept for up to seven days. http://www.lvrj.com/news/8242867.html
"RoboCop Fantasy Gets Real"
Houston Chronicle (06/29/07); Jewell, Mark
On June 28, iRobot and Taser International teamed in Boston to demonstrate their joint product, to be used by law enforcement and the Pentagon. By merging Taser stun guns with robots already manufactured for the military, iRobot wants to provide police and soldiers with a nonlethal, defensive weapon. Certain observers, however, are worried such inventions could wind up resulting in robots that decide for themselves when to shoot and possibly kill someone. "Right now, we have no plans to take any robot with a lethal-weapon approach to the market," iRobot vice president for business development Jim Rymarcsuk stressed. The two firms stated they have a model that will be shown at the conference Taser is hosting July 9-10 in Chicago. The model combines iRobot's current PackBot Explorer with the Taser X26m in what iRobot describes as "the first robot of its kind with an on-board, integrated Taser payload." It is not yet known when the system will be available to purchase or what its price will be. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/4930198.html
"County to Provide Crime Fighting Help to the City"
York Dispatch (PA) (06/28/07); Klimanis, Daina
The York County commissioners have agreed to set aside $100,000 to underwrite anti-crime projects. As part of the allocation, commissioners have decided to give a $52,000 salary increase to York City Police Department Nuisance Abatement Officer William Wentz. Another $8,000 will go toward the city initiative, the Downtown York Collaborative, which has proposed stepping up downtown police patrols and maintaining the upkeep of the city center. About $10,000 have been earmarked for the city's Home Owners Maximizing Equity Program, and $30,000 toward the installation of surveillance cameras and other security equipment downtown. http://www.yorkdispatch.com/local/ci_6250966
"Cobb Computer System to Ease Traffic Ticket Hassle"
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (06/28/07) P. 1JF; Rodriguez, Yolanda
Cobb Police and Georgia officials are slated to implement a computer system that will more efficiently process traffic tickets. The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program will allow officials to download traffic tickets into the state's court system and citizens will be able to check the amount of their fines faster. In 2006, four clerks manually entered 125,000 traffic tickets into the Cobb State Court system. Law enforcement officials have been using the Traffic and Criminal Software (TraCS) system since 2004, enabling them to fill out reports via patrol car laptops. Lt. C.T. Cox says the ability to have information at such accessibility has been essential to the ability of abetting criminal cases. The department is the only one of its kind in the state to use the software, while other applications are being tested to aid officers in filling out incident reports. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/printedition/2007/06/28/nfxnwxpolice0628a.html
"Crash Course"
Macon Telegraph (GA) (06/28/07); Burk, Jennifer
Georgia state troopers have integrated state-of-the-art forensic animation into their training. Georgia State Patrol officers taking part in a special training session for the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team at Central Georgia Technical College are able to create 3-D diagrams and animation on a computer program using evidence collected at crime scenes of traffic accidents. Officers can submit the animation in court cases to reconstruct scenes for the prosecution. "This is an illustration of our version of what the evidence tells us," says GSP Sgt. Scott Short, support services sergeant for the reconstruction team. "Once our capabilities come to be known, we anticipate we'll get requests from GBI, from other local agencies (and) from prosecutors." http://www.macon.com/198/story/77028.html
"Long Eye of Law"
Newsday (06/26/07) P. A6; Frazier, Michael
The Long Beach, N.Y., Police Department is one of an increasing amount of law enforcement groups that employ license plate readers erected on the top of patrol cars, referred to as the Mobile Plate Hunter. A minimum of 18 Long Island police departments utilize the readers, which cost around $22,000 each. Electronic alarms are given off from the reader when a pair of infrared cameras scan license plates at a speed of 15 to 25 a second. Pictures of the plate numbers are transmitted to a database in the vehicle trunk and checked with a digital list of cars wanted for various crimes, as well as traffic violations, reported stolen vehicles, and vehicles connected to Amber Alerts. The infrared red cameras can obtain plate numbers of moving or nonmoving cars. Since installation of the devices earlier this year, Long Beach police get around 40 alerts each day for possible stolen vehicles and licenses that have been suspended or revoked. Nationally, over 220 police departments employ the Mobile Plate Hunter, which is manufactured by Remington ELSAG of North Carolina. http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/
ny-liscan215270435jun26,0,484213.story?coll=ny-linews-print
"City Has Model for Crime Cameras"
Charleston Daily Mail (WV) (06/26/07) P. P1A; Stump, Jake
The city of Charleston, W.Va., is planning a program that will ensure most areas of the city are surveyed by cameras that can show where crimes are being committed. Mayor Danny Jones and local law enforcement plan to pattern the program after a similar one in Wilmington, Del., where the city's entire downtown area, as well as other neighborhoods at high risk for crime, are under surveillance from 76 cameras. Law enforcement officials in Wilmington say the cameras, which are monitored by the private contract firm Downtown Visions, have resulted in very low crime rates in the downtown area. Downtown Visions employees observe footage from every camera 17 hours a day, and can instantly contact police if they see suspicious activity. Charleston, meanwhile, has installed three cameras and is looking to expand surveillance, especially in high-crime areas. However, the surveillance plans have seen some opposition, especially from the West Virginia chapter of the ACLU, which points out that citizens who are not engaged in crime still may have good reasons for wanting to keep their activities in public areas private. Employees of the Wilmington surveillance program say that they take steps to ensure that no blackmail based on legal activities observed by the cameras is possible, and note that the video footage is only used for criminal cases. In addition, no crimes captured on the Wilmington cameras have yet gone to trial, because the video evidence causes defendants to simply plead guilty. http://www.dailymail.com/story/News/+/2007062637/
City+has+model+for+crime+cameras/
"Communication Upgrade Hinges on House"
Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) (06/26/07) P. B2; Cook, Dick
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) has attached earmarks to a federal appropriations bill that would include $5.8 million in funding for an 800-MHz emergency radio network for three North Georgia counties. Deal's addition of the earmarks comes after a proposal for a Department of Homeland Security grant for the network was denied, and after meetings with officials from the three counties to determine what communications equipment would be necessary. The funding would potentially be used to acquire radio equipment, repeaters, and tower sites for the new network; the counties' current low-band system is aging. However, Alex Case, emergency management director for Dade County, is concerned that even with federal funding, the amount of money required to maintain the new system would be excessive, and that the low-band system is still functional. http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/
election2006.aspx?articleid=17336&zoneid=65
"Cameras Spot 'Hot' Cars, License Plates"
Washington Times (06/25/07) P. B1
The Virginia State Police has launched an anti-auto-theft program that includes the use of digital cameras that can record license plates of cars on highways or in parking lots and automatically match the license plates recorded with those in a database of plates of stolen cars. When a match is made, an alarm sounds that alerts police officers, allowing them to recover stolen vehicles. A recent camera operation in Richmond that lasted several weeks recovered 30 vehicles and 28 sets of stolen license plates. Other anti-auto-theft strategies used by Virginia police departments include "bait cars," which are equipped with tracking devices and then left in areas with high rates of auto theft. Because of the growing use of such technology, car theft has declined considerably both in Virginia and nationally over the last decade. http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070625/METRO/106250074
&SearchID=73285246786610
"DNA Testing Center to Open by Fall"
New Orleans Times-Picayune (06/19/07) P. 1; Chapple, Charlie
The St. Tammany Parrish, La., coroner's office is taking up residence in a temporary forensic science facility, outfitted to perform DNA analysis, in Slidell by early autumn. After it is operational, the center at the previous Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) locale will be able to offer DNA analysis, toxicology tests, and pathology for area law enforcement groups. Rather than waiting as long as two years for a permanent center to be constructed, the coroner's office is establishing a temporary DNA lab and center in a building that is 3,139 square feet in size that was recently leased by Slidell, which owns the DISA site. A pair of the State Police crime lab's DNA analysis experts, Amanda Kliest and Natasha Poe, were recently retained by the coroner's office to perform the DNA testing at the new center. Meanwhile, retired state crime lab employee Kim Colombo will start working next month for the coroner's office as quality control director for the facility. The permanent facility will have a DNA lab able to perform toxicology tests on blood samples, an autopsy room, a morgue, and administrative spaces. The temporary center will mostly function as a testing facility. http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1182233022318080.xml&coll=1
"Dogs Take Bite Out of Crime"
Frederick News-Post (MD) (06/19/07); Fortney, Sarah
All seven dogs in the Frederick County Sheriff's K-9 Unit have been fitted with bulletproof vests. These new acquisitions are designed to protect the unit's dogs from most kinds of ballistics, and two even guard against stab wounds. The department was able to purchase the vests, which can cost as much as $700 apiece, thanks to a donation from the Catoctin Kennel Club and the Maryland-based group Justice for Dogs. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/business/display.htm?StoryID=61519
"Muskingum Sheriff to Get Better Radios"
Zanesville Times Recorder (OH) (06/19/07); Gadd, Brian
The $360,000 Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) will serve 99 percent of Muskingum County, enabling law enforcement to communicate with public safety agencies within Ohio. Major Bryan Hoover of the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office noted the necessity for the upgraded communication device, as the former low-banded system was "antiquated." Hoover added that the new system will cover an extensive part of the county and the only area not covered by MARCS will be a part of Baker Road and a section between Roseville and Cannelville. MARCS office manager Dick Miller said that the system will allow officers to communicate with fire departments, EMS, and up to 172 hospitals in the state. Motorola will provide the service for MARCS and the service is slated to be in place a few months following the equipment's shipment to the sheriff's department in June. http://zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20070619/NEWS01/706190314/1002
"Minnesota Turns to RFID to Monitor Inmates"
Computerworld (06/18/07); Songini, Marc L.
Minnesota's Department of Corrections (DOC) is preparing to introduce a $500,000 radio frequency identification (RFID) prisoner-tracking system at one of its centers to increase security and automate the tracking of inmates. Earlier in June, the DOC announced that it is implementing the prisoner-tracking system in the 1,300-prisoner Minnesota Correctional Facility, a minimum-to-medium security facility which contains sex offenders. The lead contractor for the initiative is Minneapolis' Crowley Co., which offers high-security fencing and tracking systems, while Alanco Technologies Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., is providing the RFID system. The monitoring system is founded on active RFID tag technology and offers alerts if something unusual is taking place. Both prisoners and corrections guards sport wrist straps possessing a proprietary RFID tag, which transmits a signal every couple of seconds to antennas implemented inside of the facility and around its edges. The readers enter data into the proprietary TSI Prism Management application that transmits the information to a master terminal in a control room and to customer terminals set up in strategic sites across the facility, including the warden's office. In addition, an inmate can be monitored in virtual real time. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?
command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9024960
Friday, July 06, 2007
Terrorist Killed, Nine Detained in Iraq
American Forces Press Service
July 5, 2007 – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained nine suspected terrorists during raids around the country yesterday and today targeting al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and operatives. This morning, coalition forces targeted an al Qaeda in Iraq explosives consultant suspected of helping improvised explosive device cells west of Baghdad. As the ground forces entered the objective site, they encountered an armed man. Acting in self-defense, coalition forces engaged the man, killing him.
During the raid, another armed man emerged from an adjoining room within the building. Coalition forces again, reacted in self-defense and engaged the armed man, wounding him. Three suspected terrorists were detained during the operation. Another raid this morning netted one suspected terrorist allegedly involved with al Qaeda in the Tarmiyah area.
Coalition forces captured the al Qaeda in Iraq administrative emir of a Baghdad neighborhood during a raid yesterday. The individual is suspected of handling logistics and financing for terrorists cells in the area, and arranging for movement of operatives for the organization. The ground forces also detained three individuals suspected of associating with the administrative emir.
"We're continuing to target all levels of the al Qaeda in Iraq organization, and are disrupting both their leadership structure and operations," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.
Meanwhile, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers captured 25 suspected insurgents over the past 30 days during Operation "Iron Blitz" northwest of the Iraqi capital. The suspects, many believed to be tied to insurgent cells responsible for roadside bombs, sectarian violence and indirect fire attacks, were captured by soldiers of the 1st "Ironhorse" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
"These (terrorists) were targeting not only coalition forces and Iraqi security forces, they were targeting the Iraqi people to escalate sectarian tensions in the area," Army Lt. Col. Peter Andrysiak, deputy commander of the Ironhorse Brigade, said. "The capture of these individuals has lead to a significant decrease in insurgent activity in our area."
The Ironhorse Brigade was able to target insurgents successfully in northwestern Baghdad neighborhoods thanks to tips from the local community, Andrysiak said.
A grassroots effort by tribal leaders in the Abu Ghraib, Taji, and Saab al Bor areas, to reject al Qaeda and work to reconcile with the government of Iraq, Iraqi security forces and the coalition, is aimed at putting an end to sectarian violence in those communities.
With 25 suspected insurgents captured in June, Andrysiak said, communities in northwest Baghdad are headed in the right direction.
"By bringing these individuals to justice, we have seen a decrease in the violence in our area," Andrysiak added. "With the help of the volunteers, we are optimistic the violence will not return."
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
July 5, 2007 – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained nine suspected terrorists during raids around the country yesterday and today targeting al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and operatives. This morning, coalition forces targeted an al Qaeda in Iraq explosives consultant suspected of helping improvised explosive device cells west of Baghdad. As the ground forces entered the objective site, they encountered an armed man. Acting in self-defense, coalition forces engaged the man, killing him.
During the raid, another armed man emerged from an adjoining room within the building. Coalition forces again, reacted in self-defense and engaged the armed man, wounding him. Three suspected terrorists were detained during the operation. Another raid this morning netted one suspected terrorist allegedly involved with al Qaeda in the Tarmiyah area.
Coalition forces captured the al Qaeda in Iraq administrative emir of a Baghdad neighborhood during a raid yesterday. The individual is suspected of handling logistics and financing for terrorists cells in the area, and arranging for movement of operatives for the organization. The ground forces also detained three individuals suspected of associating with the administrative emir.
"We're continuing to target all levels of the al Qaeda in Iraq organization, and are disrupting both their leadership structure and operations," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.
Meanwhile, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers captured 25 suspected insurgents over the past 30 days during Operation "Iron Blitz" northwest of the Iraqi capital. The suspects, many believed to be tied to insurgent cells responsible for roadside bombs, sectarian violence and indirect fire attacks, were captured by soldiers of the 1st "Ironhorse" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
"These (terrorists) were targeting not only coalition forces and Iraqi security forces, they were targeting the Iraqi people to escalate sectarian tensions in the area," Army Lt. Col. Peter Andrysiak, deputy commander of the Ironhorse Brigade, said. "The capture of these individuals has lead to a significant decrease in insurgent activity in our area."
The Ironhorse Brigade was able to target insurgents successfully in northwestern Baghdad neighborhoods thanks to tips from the local community, Andrysiak said.
A grassroots effort by tribal leaders in the Abu Ghraib, Taji, and Saab al Bor areas, to reject al Qaeda and work to reconcile with the government of Iraq, Iraqi security forces and the coalition, is aimed at putting an end to sectarian violence in those communities.
With 25 suspected insurgents captured in June, Andrysiak said, communities in northwest Baghdad are headed in the right direction.
"By bringing these individuals to justice, we have seen a decrease in the violence in our area," Andrysiak added. "With the help of the volunteers, we are optimistic the violence will not return."
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Soldiers at Iraq Outpost Keep Independence Day Vigil
By Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
July 5, 2007 – As the United States celebrated its Independence Day, soldiers continued working, standing guard and going on patrols staged from Coalition Outpost X-Ray near here. Instead of fireworks and family picnics, soldiers from Troop C, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, focused on their missions to clear the area of insurgent threats and just living from one day to the next at the outpost, Capt. David Fulton, Troop C commander, said.
"It's a great holiday to reflect on, and in many ways it is a soldier's holiday, because a lot of soldiers have sacrificed for our freedoms, which is in keeping with the spirit of Independence Day," Fulton said. "At this time, everyone's thoughts are with family back home, and it's a typical experience here to miss the wife and kids and the things that they're doing on the home front."
But the Troop C soldiers don't have the luxury of celebrating the holiday, the captain said. "We're doing a real-world mission, and it's not going to pause or stop, so we're just going to continue doing what we're doing," he said.
For soldiers who operate out of the outpost, being here for the holiday had its own meaning for them.
"Our role on this July 4th is helping the people of Iraq earn independence from tyranny and people who suppress them," said Cpl. Charles Breeding, a medic for Headquarters Troop who is attached to Troop C. "I have a job to do, and I signed a paper to serve, and I'm also following in the footsteps of my father, who during his 20 years of service spent a lot of Fourth of Julys away from home too, but when he went on (rest and recuperation leave) during the Vietnam War, it was spent in-country. So, at least we have the chance to spend our leave at home."
Breeding said he was proud to spend Independence Day as a medic to help his fellow soldiers. He misses his family, he said, but he also knows he has a job to do.
"My wife and a lot of the wives and kids out there are some of the true patriots, because they're the ones who are also making a lot of sacrifices while we're away," he said.
Sgt. Jason Feaga, a mechanic for Troop C, works long hours in a maintenance bay repairing vehicles. Sometimes he stays up late just waiting for parts to arrive via a convoy to the outpost. Feaga admitted he would miss a few things over the holiday.
"I'll definitely miss spending time with my wife and daughter," Feaga said. "My daughter is walking now, and I'm going to miss hearing her say a few of the words she's learned. If I were home now, we'd be going to a picnic or doing our own fireworks at home, and we'd also gather a few friends and family to play guitar.
"It doesn't really bother me that much anymore, though," he added. Feaga is on his second tour in Iraq and his third deployment overall - he served a 15-month stint in Korea. Each time, the deployment kept him away from home on the Fourth of July.
Soldiers live for weeks at a time at Coalition Outpost X-Ray with only a few days in their rotations set aside for them to return to Camp Taji, the troops' base camp, to do laundry, go to finance, go to the post exchange to pick up a few toiletry items and do other errands.
Although life at the outpost is not exactly like living at a four-star hotel, things are much better here than they were just a month and a half ago when the outpost was first established, Fulton said.
"We've been working really hard to make this like home," he said. "Before we got here, there were no showers, no hot meals, no electricity and no air conditioning, and we were doing real Army living for a while here."
The outpost has several large buildings that were essentially huge empty bays where, in the beginning weeks, soldiers slept on cots and were subjected to the extreme temperatures common to Iraq.
But Army engineers and other support troops from the Garryowen Squadron's Troop "Darkhorse" Forward Support Company worked with Troop C to improve the conditions. Within a few weeks, the outpost had showers, air conditioners, four- to six-man rooms with real walls and ceilings, real bunks, a mobile field kitchen trailer from which hot meals are served, a well-staffed aid station for medical services, Internet access and phone lines allowing the soldiers to call home.
There was also a massive clean-up effort in which overgrown weeds and trees were cut down and the area was sprayed for insects.
"This has been scout construction at its finest," Fulton said with a laugh, noting that his troops are mainly scouts.
One of the scouts, Spc. James Murdough, goes on patrols, stands guard and also works in the troop's training room. For him, the experience of working out of the outpost is something he has really enjoyed.
"The rooms here are much bigger than my room on Camp Taji," he said. "Time seems to go by quicker when we're out here, because we're doing our jobs and its something we all enjoy doing. We have a good cook, and the food beats the heck out of (field rations)."
Despite being away from home, Fulton said, the troops have adjusted well to their new digs.
"It's been really amazing; there's been limited complaining and a lot of hard work," he said. The troops spend a lot of time in the surrounding village, meeting the people and building trust on their daily missions, he added.
"Living in the area where we work makes for better relationships with the people who we're getting to know every day," the captain said.
"We try to walk everywhere and interact as much as possible with the local populace," Fulton said. "You have to be on the ground, doing dismounted patrols, or else you aren't going to get very far in building relationships with the people, especially if you're just riding around in a Humvee or Bradley (fighting vehicle)."
Having the outpost also makes it easier for the troops to conduct their patrols in the area.
"We're a lot closer now, so living here makes it a lot easier for us to get into our sector very quickly," Fulton explained. "Before, we had to drive all the way into the area from Camp Taji, which took a lot more time."
Troop C soldiers are building a dining facility for the outpost, which will be completed in a few weeks.
(Army Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp is assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Public Affairs.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
July 5, 2007 – As the United States celebrated its Independence Day, soldiers continued working, standing guard and going on patrols staged from Coalition Outpost X-Ray near here. Instead of fireworks and family picnics, soldiers from Troop C, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, focused on their missions to clear the area of insurgent threats and just living from one day to the next at the outpost, Capt. David Fulton, Troop C commander, said.
"It's a great holiday to reflect on, and in many ways it is a soldier's holiday, because a lot of soldiers have sacrificed for our freedoms, which is in keeping with the spirit of Independence Day," Fulton said. "At this time, everyone's thoughts are with family back home, and it's a typical experience here to miss the wife and kids and the things that they're doing on the home front."
But the Troop C soldiers don't have the luxury of celebrating the holiday, the captain said. "We're doing a real-world mission, and it's not going to pause or stop, so we're just going to continue doing what we're doing," he said.
For soldiers who operate out of the outpost, being here for the holiday had its own meaning for them.
"Our role on this July 4th is helping the people of Iraq earn independence from tyranny and people who suppress them," said Cpl. Charles Breeding, a medic for Headquarters Troop who is attached to Troop C. "I have a job to do, and I signed a paper to serve, and I'm also following in the footsteps of my father, who during his 20 years of service spent a lot of Fourth of Julys away from home too, but when he went on (rest and recuperation leave) during the Vietnam War, it was spent in-country. So, at least we have the chance to spend our leave at home."
Breeding said he was proud to spend Independence Day as a medic to help his fellow soldiers. He misses his family, he said, but he also knows he has a job to do.
"My wife and a lot of the wives and kids out there are some of the true patriots, because they're the ones who are also making a lot of sacrifices while we're away," he said.
Sgt. Jason Feaga, a mechanic for Troop C, works long hours in a maintenance bay repairing vehicles. Sometimes he stays up late just waiting for parts to arrive via a convoy to the outpost. Feaga admitted he would miss a few things over the holiday.
"I'll definitely miss spending time with my wife and daughter," Feaga said. "My daughter is walking now, and I'm going to miss hearing her say a few of the words she's learned. If I were home now, we'd be going to a picnic or doing our own fireworks at home, and we'd also gather a few friends and family to play guitar.
"It doesn't really bother me that much anymore, though," he added. Feaga is on his second tour in Iraq and his third deployment overall - he served a 15-month stint in Korea. Each time, the deployment kept him away from home on the Fourth of July.
Soldiers live for weeks at a time at Coalition Outpost X-Ray with only a few days in their rotations set aside for them to return to Camp Taji, the troops' base camp, to do laundry, go to finance, go to the post exchange to pick up a few toiletry items and do other errands.
Although life at the outpost is not exactly like living at a four-star hotel, things are much better here than they were just a month and a half ago when the outpost was first established, Fulton said.
"We've been working really hard to make this like home," he said. "Before we got here, there were no showers, no hot meals, no electricity and no air conditioning, and we were doing real Army living for a while here."
The outpost has several large buildings that were essentially huge empty bays where, in the beginning weeks, soldiers slept on cots and were subjected to the extreme temperatures common to Iraq.
But Army engineers and other support troops from the Garryowen Squadron's Troop "Darkhorse" Forward Support Company worked with Troop C to improve the conditions. Within a few weeks, the outpost had showers, air conditioners, four- to six-man rooms with real walls and ceilings, real bunks, a mobile field kitchen trailer from which hot meals are served, a well-staffed aid station for medical services, Internet access and phone lines allowing the soldiers to call home.
There was also a massive clean-up effort in which overgrown weeds and trees were cut down and the area was sprayed for insects.
"This has been scout construction at its finest," Fulton said with a laugh, noting that his troops are mainly scouts.
One of the scouts, Spc. James Murdough, goes on patrols, stands guard and also works in the troop's training room. For him, the experience of working out of the outpost is something he has really enjoyed.
"The rooms here are much bigger than my room on Camp Taji," he said. "Time seems to go by quicker when we're out here, because we're doing our jobs and its something we all enjoy doing. We have a good cook, and the food beats the heck out of (field rations)."
Despite being away from home, Fulton said, the troops have adjusted well to their new digs.
"It's been really amazing; there's been limited complaining and a lot of hard work," he said. The troops spend a lot of time in the surrounding village, meeting the people and building trust on their daily missions, he added.
"Living in the area where we work makes for better relationships with the people who we're getting to know every day," the captain said.
"We try to walk everywhere and interact as much as possible with the local populace," Fulton said. "You have to be on the ground, doing dismounted patrols, or else you aren't going to get very far in building relationships with the people, especially if you're just riding around in a Humvee or Bradley (fighting vehicle)."
Having the outpost also makes it easier for the troops to conduct their patrols in the area.
"We're a lot closer now, so living here makes it a lot easier for us to get into our sector very quickly," Fulton explained. "Before, we had to drive all the way into the area from Camp Taji, which took a lot more time."
Troop C soldiers are building a dining facility for the outpost, which will be completed in a few weeks.
(Army Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp is assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Public Affairs.)
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Steven A. Davis, 23, of Woodbridge, Va., died July 4 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with grenades. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
For more information related to this release the media may contact the Fort Carson public affairs office at (719) 526-3420; after hours (719) 526-5500.
Pfc. Steven A. Davis, 23, of Woodbridge, Va., died July 4 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with grenades. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
For more information related to this release the media may contact the Fort Carson public affairs office at (719) 526-3420; after hours (719) 526-5500.
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Andrew T. Engstrom, 22, of Slaton, Texas, died July 4 in Taji, Iraq, from injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. His death is under investigation. Engstrom was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
For more information related to this release the media may contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993; after hours (254) 291-2591.
Pfc. Andrew T. Engstrom, 22, of Slaton, Texas, died July 4 in Taji, Iraq, from injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. His death is under investigation. Engstrom was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
For more information related to this release the media may contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993; after hours (254) 291-2591.
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Chief Warrant Officer Scott A.M. Oswell, 33, of Washington, died July 4 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his helicopter struck a power line. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry, Fort Lewis, Wash.
For more information related to this release the media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0148, or after hours at (253) 967-0015 (ask for the Public Affairs Officer on call).
Chief Warrant Officer Scott A.M. Oswell, 33, of Washington, died July 4 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his helicopter struck a power line. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry, Fort Lewis, Wash.
For more information related to this release the media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0148, or after hours at (253) 967-0015 (ask for the Public Affairs Officer on call).
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Marine Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. William C. Chambers, 20, of Ringgold, Ga.
Lance Cpl. Jeremy L. Tinnel, 20, of Mechanicsville, Va.
Both Marines died July 1 from a non-hostile boat accident in the Euphrates River just off the shore of Al Anbar province. They were both assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. The accident is under investigation.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the II Marine Expeditionary Force public affairs office at (910) 451-7200.
Lance Cpl. William C. Chambers, 20, of Ringgold, Ga.
Lance Cpl. Jeremy L. Tinnel, 20, of Mechanicsville, Va.
Both Marines died July 1 from a non-hostile boat accident in the Euphrates River just off the shore of Al Anbar province. They were both assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. The accident is under investigation.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the II Marine Expeditionary Force public affairs office at (910) 451-7200.
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
1st Lt. Christopher N. Rutherford, 25, of Newport, Ohio, died July 2 near Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the Forward Support Group, 19th Engineer Battalion, Fort Knox, Ky.
For more information in regard to this release the media may contact the Fort Knox public affairs office at (502) 624-3051.
1st Lt. Christopher N. Rutherford, 25, of Newport, Ohio, died July 2 near Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the Forward Support Group, 19th Engineer Battalion, Fort Knox, Ky.
For more information in regard to this release the media may contact the Fort Knox public affairs office at (502) 624-3051.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
A view from Iraq leads additions
Editor's Note: A View from Iraq is book about a retired police officer's work as a law enforcement consultant in post-invasion Iraq.
Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website leads off these three additions with Elmer L. Snow’s A View from Iraq. Police Officers also added were Dr. Gary Cordner and Jack Eden.
Elmer L. Snow, III is a retired Sergeant from the Prince George’s County Police Department (Maryland). During his career in law enforcement he was a recipient of the Police Officer of the Year Award, Chief’s Award for Valor, Police Officer of the Month Award, and 42 letters of Commendation for Outstanding Performance of Duty.
Following his retirement, Elmer Snow was employed for five years by the DuPont Company in Wilmington, Delaware where he provided personal protection for the Chairman of the Board, the DuPont Board of Directors, and Key Management. During this time he became involved in terrorism, counter terrorism programs, and counter terrorist driving techniques.
In 2003 he was contacted by Halliburton Corporation to provide personal protection services during the reconstruction of Iraq. As a Security Coordinator with KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, Snow worked in numerous high risk positions throughout Iraq, including Mosul, Baghdad, Tikrit, Balad, and culminating at Camp Anaconda. Upon his return to the United States, Elmer Snow wrote A View from Iraq.
According to the book description, A View from Iraq “is a must read for soldiers who have served, curious citizens, families of those who served or are in Iraq, as well as security practitioners who are constantly searching for tactics that are used by terrorists and insurgents. The book details various individual acts of courage and bravery that were demonstrated by members of our armed forces, methods of identifying problems that occur, and ways of reducing the level of threat to an acceptable level.” Elmer Snow is also the author of two fiction books Overkill- A Detective’s Story and Revenge Served Cold.
Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website leads off these three additions with Elmer L. Snow’s A View from Iraq. Police Officers also added were Dr. Gary Cordner and Jack Eden.
Elmer L. Snow, III is a retired Sergeant from the Prince George’s County Police Department (Maryland). During his career in law enforcement he was a recipient of the Police Officer of the Year Award, Chief’s Award for Valor, Police Officer of the Month Award, and 42 letters of Commendation for Outstanding Performance of Duty.
Following his retirement, Elmer Snow was employed for five years by the DuPont Company in Wilmington, Delaware where he provided personal protection for the Chairman of the Board, the DuPont Board of Directors, and Key Management. During this time he became involved in terrorism, counter terrorism programs, and counter terrorist driving techniques.
In 2003 he was contacted by Halliburton Corporation to provide personal protection services during the reconstruction of Iraq. As a Security Coordinator with KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, Snow worked in numerous high risk positions throughout Iraq, including Mosul, Baghdad, Tikrit, Balad, and culminating at Camp Anaconda. Upon his return to the United States, Elmer Snow wrote A View from Iraq.
According to the book description, A View from Iraq “is a must read for soldiers who have served, curious citizens, families of those who served or are in Iraq, as well as security practitioners who are constantly searching for tactics that are used by terrorists and insurgents. The book details various individual acts of courage and bravery that were demonstrated by members of our armed forces, methods of identifying problems that occur, and ways of reducing the level of threat to an acceptable level.” Elmer Snow is also the author of two fiction books Overkill- A Detective’s Story and Revenge Served Cold.
More Information on a View from Iraq. www.police-writers.com/elmer_snow.html.
After beginning his career in law enforcement as an officer with the Ocean City Police Department (Maryland), Dr. Gary Cordner obtained a Ph.D. in social science from Michigan State University. He taught at Washington State University and the University of Baltimore before returning to law enforcement as chief of police of St. Michaels Police Department (Maryland) in 1984. He remained as the chief of police until 1987 when he joined the faculty of Eastern Kentucky University. In 1997, Gary Cordner was named the Dean of Eastern Kentucky University’s College of Law Enforcement.
The president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Cordner also has served as co-editor or co-author of seven policing textbooks and is the editor of Police Quarterly and a Senior Research Fellow with the Police Executive Research Forum. Among his books are: Managing Police Organizations (1995); Managing Police Personnel (1996); Policing Perspectives: An Anthology (1998); Police Operations: Analysis and Evaluations (1996); Police Administration (2003); and, Police and Society (2004)
According to the book description of Police and Society, “To adequately explain the complex nature of police operations in a democracy, the authors have integrated the most important theoretical foundations, research findings, and contemporary practices in a comprehensible, yet analytical, manner. Contemporary issues and future prospects of policing are fully addressed. The text features an emphasis on the relationship between the police and the community--as well as how this relationship has evolved over time. The impact of this evolution on current police practices, especially with respect to community policing and policing in the post-9/11 era, is explored.”
Jack Eden was born in Oklahoma. He received his masters degree from Emporia State University. After teaching high school for twenty-three years in Garnett, Kansas, he was Director of Community Revival Center Christian Academy. He served in law enforcement for thirteen years with five years as the Chief of Police of the Garnett Police Department (Kansas). Jack Eden is the author of Violence its Causes and Cure.
According to the book description of Jack Eden’s Violence its Causes and Cures, “Over the years while teaching in public schools and serving in law enforcement, the author takes note of an increase in violence. Violence that was increasing not only in incident but in magnitude. After hearing a number of solutions to the violence, all much too simplistic, the author tries to first list many of the reasons for violence in our world today. Then secondly the author lists the only sure cure for violence.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 611 police officers (representing 264 police departments) and their 1283 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Coalition Forces Kill Militant, Operation Ghartse Ghar Continues in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service
July 3, 2007 – Coalition forces in Afghanistan killed a suspected militant and detained two others yesterday in an operation against al Qaeda in the Zana Khan district of Ghazni province. Credible intelligence led the forces to the location, suspected of housing militants working within the Haqqani network. One suspected militant was shot as coalition forces entered the compound.
In other news from Afghanistan, Afghan police advised by coalition forces conducted a combat patrol June 29-30 as part of the International Security Assistance Force's Operation Ghartse Ghar, which is intended to clear Taliban fighters from both sides of the Helmand River near the village of Shurakian, in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.
The city, historically an insurgent stronghold, is cut in half by the Helmand River. Coalition teams moved up both sides forming a two-pronged attack to give the enemy less chance of escape, U.S. officials said.
As the joint Afghan police and coalition force made its approach to the city, hundreds of civilians were seen moving out of the city.
"I watched hundreds of civilians walk out of the city unopposed," said a coalition soldier. "I counted 150 and just quit because the stream wouldn't stop. The civilians know the insurgents commonly use human shields when fighting with coalition forces, so it was a wise choice to go."
Coalition forces took up positions overlooking the city and used precision weapons combined with advanced optics to eliminate confirmed targets. The coalition forces concentrated on eliminating confirmed enemies, U.S. officials said.
"We held back two air strikes because positive identification could not be confirmed," a coalition officer said. "Our forces are very proficient at spotting signs of the enemy and ensuring positive identification before eliminating them."
Since Operation Ghartse Ghar started in June, more than four dozen Taliban have been killed in the clashes.
(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)
July 3, 2007 – Coalition forces in Afghanistan killed a suspected militant and detained two others yesterday in an operation against al Qaeda in the Zana Khan district of Ghazni province. Credible intelligence led the forces to the location, suspected of housing militants working within the Haqqani network. One suspected militant was shot as coalition forces entered the compound.
In other news from Afghanistan, Afghan police advised by coalition forces conducted a combat patrol June 29-30 as part of the International Security Assistance Force's Operation Ghartse Ghar, which is intended to clear Taliban fighters from both sides of the Helmand River near the village of Shurakian, in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.
The city, historically an insurgent stronghold, is cut in half by the Helmand River. Coalition teams moved up both sides forming a two-pronged attack to give the enemy less chance of escape, U.S. officials said.
As the joint Afghan police and coalition force made its approach to the city, hundreds of civilians were seen moving out of the city.
"I watched hundreds of civilians walk out of the city unopposed," said a coalition soldier. "I counted 150 and just quit because the stream wouldn't stop. The civilians know the insurgents commonly use human shields when fighting with coalition forces, so it was a wise choice to go."
Coalition forces took up positions overlooking the city and used precision weapons combined with advanced optics to eliminate confirmed targets. The coalition forces concentrated on eliminating confirmed enemies, U.S. officials said.
"We held back two air strikes because positive identification could not be confirmed," a coalition officer said. "Our forces are very proficient at spotting signs of the enemy and ensuring positive identification before eliminating them."
Since Operation Ghartse Ghar started in June, more than four dozen Taliban have been killed in the clashes.
(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)
U.S. Forces Rescue Downed Helicopter Crew; Ops Continue Throughout Iraq
American Forces Press Service
July 3, 2007 – An AH-64 Apache helicopter crew rescued two U.S. pilots after enemy fire brought down their OH-58D Kiowa helicopter south of Baghdad yesterday. The OH-58 pilots suffered minor injuries. An Air Force Thunderbolt II destroyed the downed helicopter with two 500-pound laser-guided bombs after the pilots were evacuated from the area.
In operations today, coalition forces killed three terrorists, detained 29 suspects and destroyed a cache of bomb-making materials, U.S. officials said.
A senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader was killed today by U.S. troops during a raid conducted west of Tarmiyah. The U.S. soldiers also detained seven suspected terrorists for alleged involvement with al Qaeda and their association with the deceased terrorist leader.
During an operation in western Baghdad, U.S. troops captured an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq operative suspected of conducting illegal checkpoints and numerous killings. Five suspected terrorists were detained during the operation, including the alleged al Qaeda agent.
Near Asad, U.S. troops captured a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq agent with alleged ties to foreign terrorists and a car-bomb network. This detainee also is suspected of involvement in a chlorine suicide-bomb attack in Fallujah in March. Three other suspected terrorists also were detained.
During a series of other raids in and around Asad, U.S. troops detained eight more suspects allegedly tied to the bomb-building network and destroyed three vehicles had used to transport insurgents and their weapons.
During another raid in Taji, U.S. forces netted five suspected terrorists allegedly linked to bomb-making activities. A cache of chemicals and bomb-making materials also were discovered. An explosives team destroyed the cache.
"We're continuing to target the (vehicle bomb) and homemade explosives networks to reduce the operations of the terrorists who indiscriminately attack Iraqi civilians," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. "We remain committed to stopping those who would use violence to reignite the cycle of reciprocity of sectarian violence."
In operations yesterday, U.S. troops killed two terrorists, detained eight suspected terrorists, including a senior al Qaeda leader, and uncovered several bomb caches during operations targeting terrorist bombing networks in Baghdad.
U.S. troops killed a suspected terrorist who'd maneuvered upon their position and detained two more suspects for their alleged involvement with the deceased al Qaeda in Iraq senior leader. The U.S. soldiers also destroyed two vehicles used in the transport of enemy personnel and weapons.
As U.S. forces approached another targeted building, an armed man began firing on them from the backyard. U.S. troops returned fire and killed the man. Another suspect was detained at the location.
When U.S. troops raided two nearby buildings they found multiple caches of bomb-making material along with a vehicle used in terrorist activities. Six suspected terrorists were detained for their alleged involvement in the Baghdad bombing network.
"Dismantling the suicide bombing network in Baghdad is a top priority for us," Garver said. "We will continue to target al Qaeda and any groups that use vehicle-borne bombs to attack the Iraqi people."
In other Iraq news, a U.S. helicopter used its missiles to destroy a ZPU-1 anti-aircraft gun and a 120 mm mortar system located about 10 kilometers west of Iskandariyah on July 1.
Meanwhile, Iraqi police in Mahawil, about 50 miles south of Baghdad, detained the alleged brigade commander of a rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi militia July 1. The detainee is directly responsible for directing bombing attacks against Iraqi police and soldiers and coalition forces, U.S. officials said. One such attack killed five U.S. soldiers. Iraqi police also detained three other individuals and confiscated cell phones, computer hard drives, and passports and other documents.
And, U.S. troops destroyed a homemade bomb factory in the Diyala River Valley during a July 1 operation. The erstwhile factory was a single-story brick structure set near the village of Mikbisa, northeast of Baqubah. It was discovered during a routine patrol.
After entering the house U.S. troops found large amounts of fertilizer, ammonium nitrate and nitric acid, all key ingredients used in making explosives. The house also contained a drying room in which the entire floor was covered with over 500 lbs. of explosive material. Also, a number of chemical suits and boots, goggles, vapor masks and a large number of chemical gloves were found inside the house.
"This is a significant find and confirms that al Qaeda is working against the good people of Iraq," said Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of Multinational Division North and Task Force Lightning.
In addition, at least 23 insurgents were killed in fighting 4 kilometers south of Ramadi on Jazzera al Humar (Donkey Island) along the Nassar Canal between June 30 and July 1. Coalition and Iraqi forces were in the area because they had received reports that a significant number of anti-Iraqi forces had gathered on the outskirts of Ramadi to stage a series of large-scale attacks.
The al Qaeda in Iraq-affiliated terror group planned to regain a base of operations in Anbar province by mounting suicide car- and vest-bomb attacks. The battle began June 30 when U.S. troops were attacked with small-arms fire from two trucks. The Americans returned fire and pursued the fleeing attackers with the help of Army AH-64A Apache helicopter gunships and Marine F-18 Hornet and AV-8B Harrier fighter jets. The U.S. helicopters killed at least one insurgent and wounded another and destroyed the two trucks, later determined to be loaded with weapons, ammunition and explosives.
A search of the area on July 1 discovered 22 deceased insurgents, including seven who wore suicide vests, as well as 24 homemade grenades, 20 pressure-plate improvised explosive devices, assault rifles and machine guns, military uniforms, suicide vests and backpacks with first aid kits. Most of the enemy dead wore white clothing with white running shoes, an outfit often associated with extremist fighters prepared to kill themselves.
As the operation progressed, U.S. troops continued a search for enemy troops or weapons caches. Extremists again attacked with machine gun fire, grenades and a suicide vest. The U.S. soldiers responded with small-arms fire and grenades, killing at least one enemy fighter. Helicopter gun ships and fighter jets provided aerial surveillance and used missiles to destroy an enemy bunker complex. Two enemy fighters were detained and taken to a military detention facility for questioning.
(Information compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
July 3, 2007 – An AH-64 Apache helicopter crew rescued two U.S. pilots after enemy fire brought down their OH-58D Kiowa helicopter south of Baghdad yesterday. The OH-58 pilots suffered minor injuries. An Air Force Thunderbolt II destroyed the downed helicopter with two 500-pound laser-guided bombs after the pilots were evacuated from the area.
In operations today, coalition forces killed three terrorists, detained 29 suspects and destroyed a cache of bomb-making materials, U.S. officials said.
A senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader was killed today by U.S. troops during a raid conducted west of Tarmiyah. The U.S. soldiers also detained seven suspected terrorists for alleged involvement with al Qaeda and their association with the deceased terrorist leader.
During an operation in western Baghdad, U.S. troops captured an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq operative suspected of conducting illegal checkpoints and numerous killings. Five suspected terrorists were detained during the operation, including the alleged al Qaeda agent.
Near Asad, U.S. troops captured a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq agent with alleged ties to foreign terrorists and a car-bomb network. This detainee also is suspected of involvement in a chlorine suicide-bomb attack in Fallujah in March. Three other suspected terrorists also were detained.
During a series of other raids in and around Asad, U.S. troops detained eight more suspects allegedly tied to the bomb-building network and destroyed three vehicles had used to transport insurgents and their weapons.
During another raid in Taji, U.S. forces netted five suspected terrorists allegedly linked to bomb-making activities. A cache of chemicals and bomb-making materials also were discovered. An explosives team destroyed the cache.
"We're continuing to target the (vehicle bomb) and homemade explosives networks to reduce the operations of the terrorists who indiscriminately attack Iraqi civilians," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. "We remain committed to stopping those who would use violence to reignite the cycle of reciprocity of sectarian violence."
In operations yesterday, U.S. troops killed two terrorists, detained eight suspected terrorists, including a senior al Qaeda leader, and uncovered several bomb caches during operations targeting terrorist bombing networks in Baghdad.
U.S. troops killed a suspected terrorist who'd maneuvered upon their position and detained two more suspects for their alleged involvement with the deceased al Qaeda in Iraq senior leader. The U.S. soldiers also destroyed two vehicles used in the transport of enemy personnel and weapons.
As U.S. forces approached another targeted building, an armed man began firing on them from the backyard. U.S. troops returned fire and killed the man. Another suspect was detained at the location.
When U.S. troops raided two nearby buildings they found multiple caches of bomb-making material along with a vehicle used in terrorist activities. Six suspected terrorists were detained for their alleged involvement in the Baghdad bombing network.
"Dismantling the suicide bombing network in Baghdad is a top priority for us," Garver said. "We will continue to target al Qaeda and any groups that use vehicle-borne bombs to attack the Iraqi people."
In other Iraq news, a U.S. helicopter used its missiles to destroy a ZPU-1 anti-aircraft gun and a 120 mm mortar system located about 10 kilometers west of Iskandariyah on July 1.
Meanwhile, Iraqi police in Mahawil, about 50 miles south of Baghdad, detained the alleged brigade commander of a rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi militia July 1. The detainee is directly responsible for directing bombing attacks against Iraqi police and soldiers and coalition forces, U.S. officials said. One such attack killed five U.S. soldiers. Iraqi police also detained three other individuals and confiscated cell phones, computer hard drives, and passports and other documents.
And, U.S. troops destroyed a homemade bomb factory in the Diyala River Valley during a July 1 operation. The erstwhile factory was a single-story brick structure set near the village of Mikbisa, northeast of Baqubah. It was discovered during a routine patrol.
After entering the house U.S. troops found large amounts of fertilizer, ammonium nitrate and nitric acid, all key ingredients used in making explosives. The house also contained a drying room in which the entire floor was covered with over 500 lbs. of explosive material. Also, a number of chemical suits and boots, goggles, vapor masks and a large number of chemical gloves were found inside the house.
"This is a significant find and confirms that al Qaeda is working against the good people of Iraq," said Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of Multinational Division North and Task Force Lightning.
In addition, at least 23 insurgents were killed in fighting 4 kilometers south of Ramadi on Jazzera al Humar (Donkey Island) along the Nassar Canal between June 30 and July 1. Coalition and Iraqi forces were in the area because they had received reports that a significant number of anti-Iraqi forces had gathered on the outskirts of Ramadi to stage a series of large-scale attacks.
The al Qaeda in Iraq-affiliated terror group planned to regain a base of operations in Anbar province by mounting suicide car- and vest-bomb attacks. The battle began June 30 when U.S. troops were attacked with small-arms fire from two trucks. The Americans returned fire and pursued the fleeing attackers with the help of Army AH-64A Apache helicopter gunships and Marine F-18 Hornet and AV-8B Harrier fighter jets. The U.S. helicopters killed at least one insurgent and wounded another and destroyed the two trucks, later determined to be loaded with weapons, ammunition and explosives.
A search of the area on July 1 discovered 22 deceased insurgents, including seven who wore suicide vests, as well as 24 homemade grenades, 20 pressure-plate improvised explosive devices, assault rifles and machine guns, military uniforms, suicide vests and backpacks with first aid kits. Most of the enemy dead wore white clothing with white running shoes, an outfit often associated with extremist fighters prepared to kill themselves.
As the operation progressed, U.S. troops continued a search for enemy troops or weapons caches. Extremists again attacked with machine gun fire, grenades and a suicide vest. The U.S. soldiers responded with small-arms fire and grenades, killing at least one enemy fighter. Helicopter gun ships and fighter jets provided aerial surveillance and used missiles to destroy an enemy bunker complex. Two enemy fighters were detained and taken to a military detention facility for questioning.
(Information compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Operation Phantom Thunder Proceeds in Iraq; Afghan Progress Continues
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
July 3, 2007 – Operation Phantom Thunder enters its third week with coalition forces operating in and around Baghdad, Diyala province and Anbar province, in Iraq, a Joint Staff spokesman said here today. Army Brig. Gen. Perry Wiggins also said that the Taliban has not been able to launch a serious challenge to NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
Wiggins said U.S. servicemembers are experiencing a tough fight against a fanatical enemy, but they are making progress against the terrorists.
The fighting against al Qaeda and Shiia militias in Iraq is in areas where such groups long have had freedom of movement and time to prepare elaborate defenses, he said. During Phantom Thunder, U.S. and Iraqi forces have captured nearly 500 enemy fighters and found more than 50 major weapons caches, Wiggins said.
"The most remarkable thing about these gains is that the actions are increasingly a result of local Iraqis coming forward with tips (an Iraqi forces) responding to those tips," he said.
The Iraqi people know who the enemy is, they know where caches are, and they are turning enemy fighters in to Iraqi security forces, he said.
In Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, coalition forces have discovered what Wiggins called an al Qaeda shadow government. "We have found a courthouse, jail and torture chamber, which can only provide an indicator of the type of inhuman justice one could expect if al Qaeda was in charge," he said.
Coalition and Iraqi forces have cleared more than 120 deeply buried improvised explosive devices and numerous booby-trapped houses in the operation. Some of the houses were so infested they had to be destroyed rather than having the explosives disarmed.
These operations go hand in hand with U.S. and Iraqi special operations forces going after al Qaeda leaders and Jaysh al Mahdi special groups and car bombs networks throughout Iraq.
Phantom Thunder operations continue to squeeze insurgent forces, Wiggins said. He added that he expects the enemy to oppose the coalition effort by launching spectacular attacks on the Iraqi people.
In Afghanistan, NATO and Afghan security forces have seized the initiative. Operation Adalat, conducted in the southern part of the country, ended yesterday with more than 250 Taliban fighters killed, as well as Taliban sanctuaries, operations and lines of communications disrupted, Wiggins said.
In Afghanistan's eastern region, Operation Maiwand continues. Maiwand is an Afghan-planned, Afghan-commanded effort with U.S. forces in support. Maiwand is aimed at separating the Taliban from the populace in the Ghazni province area. "This is a significant step in the development of Afghan national security forces," he said.
American Forces Press Service
July 3, 2007 – Operation Phantom Thunder enters its third week with coalition forces operating in and around Baghdad, Diyala province and Anbar province, in Iraq, a Joint Staff spokesman said here today. Army Brig. Gen. Perry Wiggins also said that the Taliban has not been able to launch a serious challenge to NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
Wiggins said U.S. servicemembers are experiencing a tough fight against a fanatical enemy, but they are making progress against the terrorists.
The fighting against al Qaeda and Shiia militias in Iraq is in areas where such groups long have had freedom of movement and time to prepare elaborate defenses, he said. During Phantom Thunder, U.S. and Iraqi forces have captured nearly 500 enemy fighters and found more than 50 major weapons caches, Wiggins said.
"The most remarkable thing about these gains is that the actions are increasingly a result of local Iraqis coming forward with tips (an Iraqi forces) responding to those tips," he said.
The Iraqi people know who the enemy is, they know where caches are, and they are turning enemy fighters in to Iraqi security forces, he said.
In Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, coalition forces have discovered what Wiggins called an al Qaeda shadow government. "We have found a courthouse, jail and torture chamber, which can only provide an indicator of the type of inhuman justice one could expect if al Qaeda was in charge," he said.
Coalition and Iraqi forces have cleared more than 120 deeply buried improvised explosive devices and numerous booby-trapped houses in the operation. Some of the houses were so infested they had to be destroyed rather than having the explosives disarmed.
These operations go hand in hand with U.S. and Iraqi special operations forces going after al Qaeda leaders and Jaysh al Mahdi special groups and car bombs networks throughout Iraq.
Phantom Thunder operations continue to squeeze insurgent forces, Wiggins said. He added that he expects the enemy to oppose the coalition effort by launching spectacular attacks on the Iraqi people.
In Afghanistan, NATO and Afghan security forces have seized the initiative. Operation Adalat, conducted in the southern part of the country, ended yesterday with more than 250 Taliban fighters killed, as well as Taliban sanctuaries, operations and lines of communications disrupted, Wiggins said.
In Afghanistan's eastern region, Operation Maiwand continues. Maiwand is an Afghan-planned, Afghan-commanded effort with U.S. forces in support. Maiwand is aimed at separating the Taliban from the populace in the Ghazni province area. "This is a significant step in the development of Afghan national security forces," he said.
Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Juan M. Garcia Schill, 20, of Grants Pass, Ore., died July 2 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the Twentynine Palms public affairs office at (760) 830-6213.
Lance Cpl. Juan M. Garcia Schill, 20, of Grants Pass, Ore., died July 2 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
For more information in regard to this release the media can contact the Twentynine Palms public affairs office at (760) 830-6213.
Troops Return From 'Why We Serve' Outreach Mission; New Batch Heads Out
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
July 3, 2007 – A group of servicemembers selected by Defense Department officials to share stories of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan are leaving the three-month assignment as inspired and touched as they left their audiences. As part of the department's "Why We Serve" program, eight military members were chosen to travel to communities throughout the United States on a 90-day public outreach speaking tour on which they appeared before communities in 40 states during 277 events reaching more than 47,000 people.
"This whole program has been amazing," said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Virginia Mayo. "It's not just because I get to tell my story; I'm a voice for the people still in Iraq and the people going back."
"I think it's important to let the American people really know what's going on over there," said Mayo, who attended more than 30 events during her tour over the past three months.
Mayo said one of her favorite groups was a Blue Star Mothers group from New Jersey. "I have never felt so loved. They were all hugging me and thanking me for what I've done," she said. "Those women were absolutely amazing!"
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, started the Why We Serve program in fall 2006. Two members from each service, both enlisted and commissioned, conduct the program in quarterly segments. They talk to schools, veterans organizations and business groups, among others.
The program is important because it allows Americans to meet individual servicemembers who have been part of the war on terrorism, said Marine Maj. Chris Devine, the program's director.
"We don't care about politics; we just want to get the story of individual servicemembers out there," he said. "There is a huge credibility when young troops talk about their experiences."
Although only eight troops hit the road per quarter, they are representative of nearly 1 million active-duty troops throughout the military. Devine said participants range in ages from 17 to 45.
"They provide a true snapshot of what it means to be in the military today," he said.
"My story is my soldier's story," said Army Capt. Jessica Murphy. "And I tell my soldiers how much they are loved and respected by the people I've come in contact with during this program."
Murphy traveled to 12 states and spoke to more than 3,000 people during 25 separate events.
"There is an overwhelming support for troops out there," she said. "People would constantly come up to me and hug me. They are so grateful for what our military is doing for them."
Navy Lt. j.g. Katie Hagen called the experience phenomenal. "I was on a plane every other day; it was hectic. But the importance of what we were doing completely made up for that."
"Despite personal beliefs that the American public may have on the war, our troops are very well supported," she said. "It's essential that we get this message out to our troops."
The eight program participants are being replaced by a new batch who are just as excited and ready to take on the challenge. The newcomers spent last week at the Pentagon undergoing training consisting of public speaking classes, interview skills, speech preparation, and policy and ethics briefings. The first two servicemembers hit the road yesterday to begin their speaking tour.
"I can't wait to be the 'face of the Navy,'" said incoming speaker Petty Officer 1st Class Caleb Duke, who works on fast attack submarines. "The Navy will let you showcase your talents anywhere around the world. I can't wait to tell people about the 'silent service' of those on subs."
Duke recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan, where he earned a Bronze Star medal for working with an Army civil affairs unit on emergency-response and rehabilitation programs in improve the quality of life for residents of the war-torn country.
"We are ambassadors for our individual service and the military," he said. "This is a great responsibility and honor. I look forward to getting the message out on what we do around the world every day."
Navy Lt. Judy Lemley volunteered to be a "sand sailor" for a six-month deployment to Afghanistan. While there, she helped develop and mentor the Afghan army in building, procuring and maintaining its radio systems.
"I love what I do," she said energetically. "I want the public to see our side of the story. My experience in Afghanistan will help other people grow."
Marine 1st Lt. David Bradt said he feels it is the servicemembers' responsibility to come back home and tell the story of what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. In March, he returned to Camp Pendleton, Calif., from a deployment to Habbaniyah, Iraq.
Unfortunately the American public never gets to hear the whole story, he said. "I thrive on this kind of thing," he said. "It's my turn to fight ... and to tell the story that needs to be told," he added.
The fourth group of "Why We Serve" speakers also includes:
-- Army Sgt. 1st Class Steven Adams;
-- Army Sgt. Daniel Alvarado;
-- Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Jeffrey Duncan;
-- Air Force Tech. Sgt. Howard Watkins; and
-- Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeremy de Vries
American Forces Press Service
July 3, 2007 – A group of servicemembers selected by Defense Department officials to share stories of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan are leaving the three-month assignment as inspired and touched as they left their audiences. As part of the department's "Why We Serve" program, eight military members were chosen to travel to communities throughout the United States on a 90-day public outreach speaking tour on which they appeared before communities in 40 states during 277 events reaching more than 47,000 people.
"This whole program has been amazing," said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Virginia Mayo. "It's not just because I get to tell my story; I'm a voice for the people still in Iraq and the people going back."
"I think it's important to let the American people really know what's going on over there," said Mayo, who attended more than 30 events during her tour over the past three months.
Mayo said one of her favorite groups was a Blue Star Mothers group from New Jersey. "I have never felt so loved. They were all hugging me and thanking me for what I've done," she said. "Those women were absolutely amazing!"
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, started the Why We Serve program in fall 2006. Two members from each service, both enlisted and commissioned, conduct the program in quarterly segments. They talk to schools, veterans organizations and business groups, among others.
The program is important because it allows Americans to meet individual servicemembers who have been part of the war on terrorism, said Marine Maj. Chris Devine, the program's director.
"We don't care about politics; we just want to get the story of individual servicemembers out there," he said. "There is a huge credibility when young troops talk about their experiences."
Although only eight troops hit the road per quarter, they are representative of nearly 1 million active-duty troops throughout the military. Devine said participants range in ages from 17 to 45.
"They provide a true snapshot of what it means to be in the military today," he said.
"My story is my soldier's story," said Army Capt. Jessica Murphy. "And I tell my soldiers how much they are loved and respected by the people I've come in contact with during this program."
Murphy traveled to 12 states and spoke to more than 3,000 people during 25 separate events.
"There is an overwhelming support for troops out there," she said. "People would constantly come up to me and hug me. They are so grateful for what our military is doing for them."
Navy Lt. j.g. Katie Hagen called the experience phenomenal. "I was on a plane every other day; it was hectic. But the importance of what we were doing completely made up for that."
"Despite personal beliefs that the American public may have on the war, our troops are very well supported," she said. "It's essential that we get this message out to our troops."
The eight program participants are being replaced by a new batch who are just as excited and ready to take on the challenge. The newcomers spent last week at the Pentagon undergoing training consisting of public speaking classes, interview skills, speech preparation, and policy and ethics briefings. The first two servicemembers hit the road yesterday to begin their speaking tour.
"I can't wait to be the 'face of the Navy,'" said incoming speaker Petty Officer 1st Class Caleb Duke, who works on fast attack submarines. "The Navy will let you showcase your talents anywhere around the world. I can't wait to tell people about the 'silent service' of those on subs."
Duke recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan, where he earned a Bronze Star medal for working with an Army civil affairs unit on emergency-response and rehabilitation programs in improve the quality of life for residents of the war-torn country.
"We are ambassadors for our individual service and the military," he said. "This is a great responsibility and honor. I look forward to getting the message out on what we do around the world every day."
Navy Lt. Judy Lemley volunteered to be a "sand sailor" for a six-month deployment to Afghanistan. While there, she helped develop and mentor the Afghan army in building, procuring and maintaining its radio systems.
"I love what I do," she said energetically. "I want the public to see our side of the story. My experience in Afghanistan will help other people grow."
Marine 1st Lt. David Bradt said he feels it is the servicemembers' responsibility to come back home and tell the story of what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. In March, he returned to Camp Pendleton, Calif., from a deployment to Habbaniyah, Iraq.
Unfortunately the American public never gets to hear the whole story, he said. "I thrive on this kind of thing," he said. "It's my turn to fight ... and to tell the story that needs to be told," he added.
The fourth group of "Why We Serve" speakers also includes:
-- Army Sgt. 1st Class Steven Adams;
-- Army Sgt. Daniel Alvarado;
-- Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Jeffrey Duncan;
-- Air Force Tech. Sgt. Howard Watkins; and
-- Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeremy de Vries
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. James L. Adair, 26, of Carthage, Texas, died June 29 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
For more information, media may contact the Fort Riley public affairs office at (785) 239-3410.
Spc. James L. Adair, 26, of Carthage, Texas, died June 29 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
For more information, media may contact the Fort Riley public affairs office at (785) 239-3410.
Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died July 1 in Ta'meem, Iraq, of wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire.
Killed were:
Sgt. 1st Class Raymond R. Buchan, 33, of Johnston, Pa. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.
Staff Sgt. Michael L. Ruoff Jr., 31, of Yosemite, Calif. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the U.S. Army, Europe, public affairs office at 011-49-6221-57-6936.
Killed were:
Sgt. 1st Class Raymond R. Buchan, 33, of Johnston, Pa. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.
Staff Sgt. Michael L. Ruoff Jr., 31, of Yosemite, Calif. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the U.S. Army, Europe, public affairs office at 011-49-6221-57-6936.
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Jonathan M. Rossi, 20, of Safety Harbor, Fla., died July 1 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Bliss public affairs office at (915) 568-4505.
Pfc. Jonathan M. Rossi, 20, of Safety Harbor, Fla., died July 1 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Bliss public affairs office at (915) 568-4505.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Iran Arming, Training, Directing Terror Groups in Iraq, U.S. Official Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
July 2, 2007 – While al Qaeda in Iraq remains the main enemy in the country, coalition and Iraqi forces are increasingly targeting groups whose training, funding and supplies come from Iran, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq said today. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner also said Iran is funding Hezbollah operatives in Iraq. Hezbollah is a Shiia extremist group based in Lebanon. The terror group has seats in the Lebanese parliament and operates as a shadow government for Shiia areas of that country. Iran trains, supplies and funds that group.
Actions against these Iraqi groups have allowed coalition intelligence officials to piece together the Iranian connection to terrorism in Iraq. Bergner said that Iran's Quds Force, a special branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, is training, funding and arming the Iraqi groups.
"It shows how Iranian operatives are using Lebanese surrogates to create Hezbollah-like capabilities," Bergner said. "And it paints a picture of the level of effort in funding and arming extremist groups in Iraq."
The general said the coalition and Iraqi security forces are working to interdict the flow from Iran of weapons, funding and training.
Bergner said these special Iraqi groups have evolved over the past three years into largely rogue elements that use a cellular structure to operate independently.
"In the past few months, since the surge of forces began, Iraqi and coalition forces have conducted a range of operations against these special groups," he said, noting that coalition and Iraqi forces have killed or captured 21 of the higher-level operatives since February.
The groups operate throughout Iraq. They planned and executed a string of bombings, kidnappings, sectarian murders and more against Iraqi citizens, Iraqi forces and coalition personnel. They receive arms -- including explosively formed penetrators, the most deadly form of improvised explosive device -- and funding from Iran. They also have received planning help and orders from Iran, Bergner said.
One group leader was Azhar Dulaymi, whom coalition forces killed May 19. Bergner said the terrorist led the Jan. 20 attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala that killed five U.S. soldiers. Dulaymi worked closely with Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali, two men with direct links to Iran.
Coalition forces captured Daqduq on March 20. "He is Lebanese-born and has served for the past 24 years in Lebanese Hezbollah," Bergner said. "He was in Iraq working as a surrogate for Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force operatives involved with special groups."
Daqduq, a member of Hezbollah in Lebanon since 1983, served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah leader Sayyad Hassan Nazrullah. He also led Hezbollah operations in large areas of Lebanon, Bergner said.
"In 2005, he was directed by senior Lebanese Hezbollah leadership to go to Iran and work with the Quds Force to train Iraqi extremists," the general said. "In May 2006, he traveled to Tehran with Yussef Hashim, a fellow Lebanese Hezbollah and head of their operations in Iraq. There they met with the commander and deputy commander of the Iranian Quds Force special external operations."
Daqduq was ordered to Iraq to report on the training and operations of the Iraqi special groups. "In the year prior to his capture, Ali Musa Daqduq made four trips to Iraq," Bergner said. "He monitored and reported on the training and arming of special groups in mortars and rockets, manufacturing and employment of improvised explosive devices, and kidnapping operations. Most significantly, he was tasked to organize the special groups in ways that mirrored how Hezbollah was organized in Lebanon."
Daqduq also helped the Quds Force in training Iraqis inside Iran. "Quds Force, along with Hezbollah instructors train approximately 20 to 60 Iraqis at a time, sending them back to Iraq organized into these special groups," he said. "They are being taught how to use (explosively formed penetrators), mortars, rockets, as well as intelligence, sniper and kidnapping operations."
The Quds Force also supplies the groups with weapons and a funding stream of between $750,000 to $3 million a month. "Without this support, these special groups would be hard-pressed to conduct their operations in Iraq," Bergner said.
When captured, Daqduq had detailed documents that discussed tactics to attack Iraqi and coalition forces. "He also had a personal journal that shows his involvement with extremist operations in Iraq," the general said. "His diary also notes meeting with special group members who were targeting other Iraqis and coalition forces in the Diyala province using IEDs, as well as small-arms fire."
Khazali was captured with Daqduq. He was in charge of these groups throughout Iraq since June 2006. He is an Iraqi who worked to develop the Iraqi groups into a network similar to Hezbollah.
"It is important to point out that both Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali state that senior leadership within the Quds Force knew of and supported planning for the eventual Karbala attack that killed five coalition soldiers," Bergner said. "Ali Musa Daqduq contends the Iraqi special groups could not have conducted this complex operation without the support and direction of the Quds Force.
"Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali both confirm that Qayis Khazali authorized the operation and Azhar al Dulaymi, who we killed in an operation earlier this year, executed the operation."
All of this is counter to pledges Iran has made to the Iraqi government to respect territorial boundaries and work to ease violence inside Iraq, Bergner said.
"The government of Iran has committed to help work with the government of Iraq in addressing the security problems in this country," he said. "I think the most clear and important message to take from this is, there does not seem to be any follow-through on the commitment that Iran has made to work with Iraq in addressing the ... destabilizing security issues here in Iraq."
American Forces Press Service
July 2, 2007 – While al Qaeda in Iraq remains the main enemy in the country, coalition and Iraqi forces are increasingly targeting groups whose training, funding and supplies come from Iran, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq said today. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner also said Iran is funding Hezbollah operatives in Iraq. Hezbollah is a Shiia extremist group based in Lebanon. The terror group has seats in the Lebanese parliament and operates as a shadow government for Shiia areas of that country. Iran trains, supplies and funds that group.
Actions against these Iraqi groups have allowed coalition intelligence officials to piece together the Iranian connection to terrorism in Iraq. Bergner said that Iran's Quds Force, a special branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, is training, funding and arming the Iraqi groups.
"It shows how Iranian operatives are using Lebanese surrogates to create Hezbollah-like capabilities," Bergner said. "And it paints a picture of the level of effort in funding and arming extremist groups in Iraq."
The general said the coalition and Iraqi security forces are working to interdict the flow from Iran of weapons, funding and training.
Bergner said these special Iraqi groups have evolved over the past three years into largely rogue elements that use a cellular structure to operate independently.
"In the past few months, since the surge of forces began, Iraqi and coalition forces have conducted a range of operations against these special groups," he said, noting that coalition and Iraqi forces have killed or captured 21 of the higher-level operatives since February.
The groups operate throughout Iraq. They planned and executed a string of bombings, kidnappings, sectarian murders and more against Iraqi citizens, Iraqi forces and coalition personnel. They receive arms -- including explosively formed penetrators, the most deadly form of improvised explosive device -- and funding from Iran. They also have received planning help and orders from Iran, Bergner said.
One group leader was Azhar Dulaymi, whom coalition forces killed May 19. Bergner said the terrorist led the Jan. 20 attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala that killed five U.S. soldiers. Dulaymi worked closely with Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali, two men with direct links to Iran.
Coalition forces captured Daqduq on March 20. "He is Lebanese-born and has served for the past 24 years in Lebanese Hezbollah," Bergner said. "He was in Iraq working as a surrogate for Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force operatives involved with special groups."
Daqduq, a member of Hezbollah in Lebanon since 1983, served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah leader Sayyad Hassan Nazrullah. He also led Hezbollah operations in large areas of Lebanon, Bergner said.
"In 2005, he was directed by senior Lebanese Hezbollah leadership to go to Iran and work with the Quds Force to train Iraqi extremists," the general said. "In May 2006, he traveled to Tehran with Yussef Hashim, a fellow Lebanese Hezbollah and head of their operations in Iraq. There they met with the commander and deputy commander of the Iranian Quds Force special external operations."
Daqduq was ordered to Iraq to report on the training and operations of the Iraqi special groups. "In the year prior to his capture, Ali Musa Daqduq made four trips to Iraq," Bergner said. "He monitored and reported on the training and arming of special groups in mortars and rockets, manufacturing and employment of improvised explosive devices, and kidnapping operations. Most significantly, he was tasked to organize the special groups in ways that mirrored how Hezbollah was organized in Lebanon."
Daqduq also helped the Quds Force in training Iraqis inside Iran. "Quds Force, along with Hezbollah instructors train approximately 20 to 60 Iraqis at a time, sending them back to Iraq organized into these special groups," he said. "They are being taught how to use (explosively formed penetrators), mortars, rockets, as well as intelligence, sniper and kidnapping operations."
The Quds Force also supplies the groups with weapons and a funding stream of between $750,000 to $3 million a month. "Without this support, these special groups would be hard-pressed to conduct their operations in Iraq," Bergner said.
When captured, Daqduq had detailed documents that discussed tactics to attack Iraqi and coalition forces. "He also had a personal journal that shows his involvement with extremist operations in Iraq," the general said. "His diary also notes meeting with special group members who were targeting other Iraqis and coalition forces in the Diyala province using IEDs, as well as small-arms fire."
Khazali was captured with Daqduq. He was in charge of these groups throughout Iraq since June 2006. He is an Iraqi who worked to develop the Iraqi groups into a network similar to Hezbollah.
"It is important to point out that both Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali state that senior leadership within the Quds Force knew of and supported planning for the eventual Karbala attack that killed five coalition soldiers," Bergner said. "Ali Musa Daqduq contends the Iraqi special groups could not have conducted this complex operation without the support and direction of the Quds Force.
"Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khazali both confirm that Qayis Khazali authorized the operation and Azhar al Dulaymi, who we killed in an operation earlier this year, executed the operation."
All of this is counter to pledges Iran has made to the Iraqi government to respect territorial boundaries and work to ease violence inside Iraq, Bergner said.
"The government of Iran has committed to help work with the government of Iraq in addressing the security problems in this country," he said. "I think the most clear and important message to take from this is, there does not seem to be any follow-through on the commitment that Iran has made to work with Iraq in addressing the ... destabilizing security issues here in Iraq."
Troops Kill Five Insurgents, Capture 36; Weapons Caches Found, Destroyed
American Forces Press Service
July 2, 2007 – Iraqi security forces and coalition troops killed five insurgents, nabbed some three dozen suspects and discovered scores of weapons caches and booby traps in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said. During raids on six buildings in Mosul today, ground forces detained six suspected terrorists. One detainee is an alleged "terrorist mediator" sent by al Qaeda leaders in Syria to settle leadership disputes in Mosul, military officials said.
West of Taji today, coalition forces searched a building for an individual suspected of selling rockets and armored vests to al Qaeda operatives in Iraq. Troops detained four suspected terrorists in the operation, officials said.
"Al Qaeda's network in Mosul is showing signs of great stress, and we will continue to target the leaders and operatives there to ensure a safe future for the people of Iraq," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.
During operations in Iraq yesterday:
-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers killed three insurgents following a roadside-bomb attack in eastern Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. The explosion, which occurred near the Abu Hanifa Mosque, killed an Iraqi citizen.
-- Soldiers from Task Force Steel, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, detained 10 suspected insurgents during a raid near Mahawil. Troops also captured two buckets of ammunition, improvised explosive device-making materials and an instruction manual on IED construction.
-- Coalition forces killed a suspected terrorist and detained eight others near Koresh, a town four miles south of Baghdad. Troops later discovered that the slain terrorist, who had fired upon a coalition member, was wearing a suicide vest and carried two hand grenades, military officials said.
-- During Operation Arrowhead Ripper's 13th day, Iraqi security and coalition forces continued to clear booby traps from Baqubah that al Qaeda members left behind as they fled the area. To date, troops have destroyed 24 booby traps, killed at least 60 al Qaeda operatives and detained 134 others, netted 45 weapons caches and destroyed 96 IEDs.
-- Multinational Division Baghdad attack helicopter crews found and destroyed an insurgent mortar system and vehicle northwest of Baghdad.
In Iraq on June 30:
-- During an early-morning operation, Iraqi security forces detained the suspected intelligence leader of an extremist group that operates in Mosul. The suspect is responsible for providing surveillance on Iraqi and coalition forces to insurgent groups that use the intelligence to develop strategies against combined forces, military officials said. He also is suspected of kidnappings and producing car bombs.
-- Iraqi security forces and coalition advisors detained four suspected terrorists with links to al Qaeda IED attacks during an operation near Mandali, military officials said. Combined forces also seized IED-making materials, including blasting caps, wire, tubing, plastic explosives, and five 155 mm artillery shells.
-- Multinational Division Baghdad attack helicopter crews killed one insurgent and wounded another after the two enemy combatants attacked coalition ground forces with small-arms fire in southern Baghdad.
-- Iraqi army and coalition soldiers captured two insurgents during a joint raid in Jurf As Sakhr. The detained men were wanted in connection with attacks against local Iraqi security forces in the area, military officials said.
-- During an early-morning operation in Baghdad, Iraqi security forces detained a suspected terrorist who military officials believe to be part of an insurgent sniper cell. The suspect is allegedly responsible for a sniper attack that killed three Iraqi sanitation workers as they cleaned the streets, and for emplacing an IED that killed four Iraqi police members.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Corps Iraq and Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Arabian Peninsula news releases.)
July 2, 2007 – Iraqi security forces and coalition troops killed five insurgents, nabbed some three dozen suspects and discovered scores of weapons caches and booby traps in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said. During raids on six buildings in Mosul today, ground forces detained six suspected terrorists. One detainee is an alleged "terrorist mediator" sent by al Qaeda leaders in Syria to settle leadership disputes in Mosul, military officials said.
West of Taji today, coalition forces searched a building for an individual suspected of selling rockets and armored vests to al Qaeda operatives in Iraq. Troops detained four suspected terrorists in the operation, officials said.
"Al Qaeda's network in Mosul is showing signs of great stress, and we will continue to target the leaders and operatives there to ensure a safe future for the people of Iraq," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.
During operations in Iraq yesterday:
-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers killed three insurgents following a roadside-bomb attack in eastern Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. The explosion, which occurred near the Abu Hanifa Mosque, killed an Iraqi citizen.
-- Soldiers from Task Force Steel, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, detained 10 suspected insurgents during a raid near Mahawil. Troops also captured two buckets of ammunition, improvised explosive device-making materials and an instruction manual on IED construction.
-- Coalition forces killed a suspected terrorist and detained eight others near Koresh, a town four miles south of Baghdad. Troops later discovered that the slain terrorist, who had fired upon a coalition member, was wearing a suicide vest and carried two hand grenades, military officials said.
-- During Operation Arrowhead Ripper's 13th day, Iraqi security and coalition forces continued to clear booby traps from Baqubah that al Qaeda members left behind as they fled the area. To date, troops have destroyed 24 booby traps, killed at least 60 al Qaeda operatives and detained 134 others, netted 45 weapons caches and destroyed 96 IEDs.
-- Multinational Division Baghdad attack helicopter crews found and destroyed an insurgent mortar system and vehicle northwest of Baghdad.
In Iraq on June 30:
-- During an early-morning operation, Iraqi security forces detained the suspected intelligence leader of an extremist group that operates in Mosul. The suspect is responsible for providing surveillance on Iraqi and coalition forces to insurgent groups that use the intelligence to develop strategies against combined forces, military officials said. He also is suspected of kidnappings and producing car bombs.
-- Iraqi security forces and coalition advisors detained four suspected terrorists with links to al Qaeda IED attacks during an operation near Mandali, military officials said. Combined forces also seized IED-making materials, including blasting caps, wire, tubing, plastic explosives, and five 155 mm artillery shells.
-- Multinational Division Baghdad attack helicopter crews killed one insurgent and wounded another after the two enemy combatants attacked coalition ground forces with small-arms fire in southern Baghdad.
-- Iraqi army and coalition soldiers captured two insurgents during a joint raid in Jurf As Sakhr. The detained men were wanted in connection with attacks against local Iraqi security forces in the area, military officials said.
-- During an early-morning operation in Baghdad, Iraqi security forces detained a suspected terrorist who military officials believe to be part of an insurgent sniper cell. The suspect is allegedly responsible for a sniper attack that killed three Iraqi sanitation workers as they cleaned the streets, and for emplacing an IED that killed four Iraqi police members.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Corps Iraq and Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Arabian Peninsula news releases.)
Marines Working to Deny Insurgents Safe Haven in Iraq
By Meghan Vittrup
American Forces Press Service
July 2, 2007 – The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit will continue to deny insurgents the use of the less populated Lake Tharthar region as part of Operation Fard al Amin, which means safety and security, the unit's commander told reporters during a Baghdad news briefing yesterday. "There hasn't been a whole lot of coalition force efforts or coalition forces in general operating in that area. And the link between al Anbar province, the Baghdad province, as well as Salahuddin province, is pretty evident there," said Marine Corps Col. Sam Mundy. "The desert region is not inhabited with great population centers, although we have found some desert dwellings and some small villages there. So there are, in some cases, more people there than we thought, but it's largely uninhabited."
Mundy said that means it has been area where insurgents -- al Qaeda in Iraq, as well as other enemy fighters -- have been able to operate with relative freedom of movement.
The strictly American air and ground task force, consisting of around 2,100 Marines and 100 Navy corpsmen, have been in the Lake Tharthar region for only two weeks and already have discovered several caches containing improvised explosive devices as well as materials to make improvised explosive devices.
"Ultimately, we want to deny the enemy the ability to use that area as any kind of sanctuary. They've been able to operate in the Tharthar area with freedom of movement," Mundy said.
Insurgents were using the area to make and store improvised explosive devices. They also were kidnapping people to use for ransom and committing crimes.
Mundy stated that American troops in the region are working to stop insurgents from continuing to use the area as a safe haven. Troops have been searching homes and buildings, and they recently discovered a hard-to-see desert dwelling that might have been used as an illegal detention facility, Mundy said. Lake Tharthar area was once used as a safe haven and a training facility for small-arms training.
Although the insurgents are weakened, they remain persistent and are trying to get back into the area, the colonel said. The insurgents have used the location as a transit point that connects them to other nearby locations, in addition to using the area to store and retrieve explosive materials.
Mundy said the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit will continue to push insurgents out of this location and force them into other regions.
"We have succeeded, of course, in pushing them into some areas, and I think the best way to think of that is that we're squeezing them," Mundy said. "And of course in a macro sense, by squeezing them, we offer them fewer and fewer places, whether it's a sanctuary or just a regular operating area, so the good that that does, then -- it makes it easier to target them and it makes it easier to find them, and I think that's a good thing, as long as we're of course not contributing to greater violence in another area."
Although the effort in the Lake Tharthar region only has taken place over the past two weeks, troops are continuing efforts to keep insurgents out of the area and eventually turn the region over to the Iraqi forces.
"We are patiently, but persistently, present throughout that area," Mundy said. "We are conducting active patrolling; we are going out and searching all areas of the region leaving no stone unturned to uncover many of these cache sites."
American Forces Press Service
July 2, 2007 – The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit will continue to deny insurgents the use of the less populated Lake Tharthar region as part of Operation Fard al Amin, which means safety and security, the unit's commander told reporters during a Baghdad news briefing yesterday. "There hasn't been a whole lot of coalition force efforts or coalition forces in general operating in that area. And the link between al Anbar province, the Baghdad province, as well as Salahuddin province, is pretty evident there," said Marine Corps Col. Sam Mundy. "The desert region is not inhabited with great population centers, although we have found some desert dwellings and some small villages there. So there are, in some cases, more people there than we thought, but it's largely uninhabited."
Mundy said that means it has been area where insurgents -- al Qaeda in Iraq, as well as other enemy fighters -- have been able to operate with relative freedom of movement.
The strictly American air and ground task force, consisting of around 2,100 Marines and 100 Navy corpsmen, have been in the Lake Tharthar region for only two weeks and already have discovered several caches containing improvised explosive devices as well as materials to make improvised explosive devices.
"Ultimately, we want to deny the enemy the ability to use that area as any kind of sanctuary. They've been able to operate in the Tharthar area with freedom of movement," Mundy said.
Insurgents were using the area to make and store improvised explosive devices. They also were kidnapping people to use for ransom and committing crimes.
Mundy stated that American troops in the region are working to stop insurgents from continuing to use the area as a safe haven. Troops have been searching homes and buildings, and they recently discovered a hard-to-see desert dwelling that might have been used as an illegal detention facility, Mundy said. Lake Tharthar area was once used as a safe haven and a training facility for small-arms training.
Although the insurgents are weakened, they remain persistent and are trying to get back into the area, the colonel said. The insurgents have used the location as a transit point that connects them to other nearby locations, in addition to using the area to store and retrieve explosive materials.
Mundy said the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit will continue to push insurgents out of this location and force them into other regions.
"We have succeeded, of course, in pushing them into some areas, and I think the best way to think of that is that we're squeezing them," Mundy said. "And of course in a macro sense, by squeezing them, we offer them fewer and fewer places, whether it's a sanctuary or just a regular operating area, so the good that that does, then -- it makes it easier to target them and it makes it easier to find them, and I think that's a good thing, as long as we're of course not contributing to greater violence in another area."
Although the effort in the Lake Tharthar region only has taken place over the past two weeks, troops are continuing efforts to keep insurgents out of the area and eventually turn the region over to the Iraqi forces.
"We are patiently, but persistently, present throughout that area," Mundy said. "We are conducting active patrolling; we are going out and searching all areas of the region leaving no stone unturned to uncover many of these cache sites."
Afghan Police Chief, American Squad Leader Earn Mutual Respect
By U.S. Army Sgt. Jim Wilt
Special to American Forces Press Service
Afghanistan, July 2, 2007 – The respect a Kentucky National Guard squad leader has for his Afghan National Police counterpart here has blossomed into near brotherhood. "The only difference between us is the language," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Linneman of Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery Brigade.
Linneman, of Florence, Ky., arrived in Afghanistan in March and quickly became friends with Col. Abdul Shokor, a resident of Kabul who serves as the Qarabagh District police chief. Both are leaders, both are 51 years old and both fight against the Taliban.
The U.S. noncommissioned officer said he believes in working beside the Afghan police, not in front of or behind them.
"I love taking them out on patrol with us. This is [Shokor's] backyard," Linneman said.
"Taliban sabat," a phrase meaning "Taliban tomorrow" is often heard between the two leaders. Linneman said the Afghan police get disappointed if their joint patrols don't find members of the Taliban.
The American said he understands there are aspects of Afghanistan he can never grasp as well as Shokor so he shares the decision-making process with his Afghan friend.
"Whatever chief says goes. What ever I say goes," Linneman said.
His respect for Shokor is partially based on the Shokor's war-fighting experience, reflected in the five scars on his body from bullets and shrapnel.
Shokor is "pretty gutsy," said Army Staff Sgt Paul Wilkerson, a forward observer in Battery A. "He gets out with us and dismounts with us."
The Afghan colonel said when he was younger he woke up one day to tanks in his town. Shortly after, he started fighting the Soviet Union as a mujahedeen in a war that would ultimately defeat the Russians and fracture Afghanistan.
The Afghan colonel said he began to fight because he didn't believe in the ideas the Russians had for his country. Soon after the defeat of the Russians, Shokor found himself fighting the Taliban.
"It is our country, we should work for the country," he said. "As a police chief, it is my job to provide security for civilians."
Shokor's desire to help his soldiers and the people of his district is evident to those who work under him.
"He seems like a pretty respectable guy," Wilkerson said. "He takes care of his men. He does what he can to help the people in his district."
Shokor spends most of his time at the Qarabagh District Center. He said he sees his wife and eight children for only two days every two to three weeks. The rest of the time he is here.
The respect Linneman and his men show Shokor is mirrored in the respect the American squad leader receives from the "chief" and his men.
When the Afghan police officer looks for Linneman, they ask for the "commandant" or "grandfather." "Grandfather" isn't a shot at the thin, grey-haired staff sergeant's age. It is a term of respect. It means the Afghans think Linneman is a good man.
(Sgt. Jim Wilt is assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force-82 Public Affairs Office)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Afghanistan, July 2, 2007 – The respect a Kentucky National Guard squad leader has for his Afghan National Police counterpart here has blossomed into near brotherhood. "The only difference between us is the language," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Linneman of Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery Brigade.
Linneman, of Florence, Ky., arrived in Afghanistan in March and quickly became friends with Col. Abdul Shokor, a resident of Kabul who serves as the Qarabagh District police chief. Both are leaders, both are 51 years old and both fight against the Taliban.
The U.S. noncommissioned officer said he believes in working beside the Afghan police, not in front of or behind them.
"I love taking them out on patrol with us. This is [Shokor's] backyard," Linneman said.
"Taliban sabat," a phrase meaning "Taliban tomorrow" is often heard between the two leaders. Linneman said the Afghan police get disappointed if their joint patrols don't find members of the Taliban.
The American said he understands there are aspects of Afghanistan he can never grasp as well as Shokor so he shares the decision-making process with his Afghan friend.
"Whatever chief says goes. What ever I say goes," Linneman said.
His respect for Shokor is partially based on the Shokor's war-fighting experience, reflected in the five scars on his body from bullets and shrapnel.
Shokor is "pretty gutsy," said Army Staff Sgt Paul Wilkerson, a forward observer in Battery A. "He gets out with us and dismounts with us."
The Afghan colonel said when he was younger he woke up one day to tanks in his town. Shortly after, he started fighting the Soviet Union as a mujahedeen in a war that would ultimately defeat the Russians and fracture Afghanistan.
The Afghan colonel said he began to fight because he didn't believe in the ideas the Russians had for his country. Soon after the defeat of the Russians, Shokor found himself fighting the Taliban.
"It is our country, we should work for the country," he said. "As a police chief, it is my job to provide security for civilians."
Shokor's desire to help his soldiers and the people of his district is evident to those who work under him.
"He seems like a pretty respectable guy," Wilkerson said. "He takes care of his men. He does what he can to help the people in his district."
Shokor spends most of his time at the Qarabagh District Center. He said he sees his wife and eight children for only two days every two to three weeks. The rest of the time he is here.
The respect Linneman and his men show Shokor is mirrored in the respect the American squad leader receives from the "chief" and his men.
When the Afghan police officer looks for Linneman, they ask for the "commandant" or "grandfather." "Grandfather" isn't a shot at the thin, grey-haired staff sergeant's age. It is a term of respect. It means the Afghans think Linneman is a good man.
(Sgt. Jim Wilt is assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force-82 Public Affairs Office)
Defense Department Pursues 'Aggressive' MRAP Fielding Strategy
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
July 2, 2007 – The Defense Department is taking unprecedented steps to get Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to deployed troops as quickly as possible - from fast-tracking the acquisition process to airlifting models as they roll off the assembly line. Marine Corps Systems Command flew a shipment of MRAPs to the theater this past weekend to cut the normal transit time, Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, told Pentagon reporters today. Marine Corps officials would not divulge details about how many vehicles were shipped, or specifically where they were destined to go, citing security concerns.
The delivery occurred just days after the Defense Department's Joint Requirements Oversight Council endorsed procuring as many MRAPs as industry can provide in fiscal 2008. The top-level panel, which validates military requirements, recommended evaluating the situation in Iraq periodically and adjusting the acquisition plan based on the need.
The JROC recommendation tracks with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' efforts to expedite MRAP fielding. Impressed by the Marine Corps' success in reducing casualties due to roadside bombs and other explosives, Gates declared the MRAP acquisition effort a top priority and formed a task force to move it forward.
"What is clear is that the department is embarking on an aggressive acquisition strategy to put as many of these armored vehicles into the field as fast as possible," Whitman said.
Defense Department and military services are reaching out to industry to "incentivize" companies to boost production while reducing the production timetable, Whitman said.
Force Protection Industries, which delivered the MRAPs what were airlifted the weekend, reported that its factory in Charleston, S.C., is hiring dozens of new employees every week to churn out the vehicles "as fast as humanly possible."
Another MRAP manufacturer, General Dynamics Land Systems announced last week that it had delivered its first MRAPs to the Marine Corps less than 120 days after getting its first production order.
"The companies that have been awarded the contracts are ramping up their production capabilities," Gates told reporters during a June 29 news conference. "I am pressing them very hard to see where they can cut the time scale as well as increase their production."
The goal, Whitman said, is to bridge the gap in the level of protection offered by up-armored Humvees and more heavily armored vehicles such as M2 Bradley fighting vehicles and M1 Abrams tanks. MRAPs, with their raised, V-shaped underbellies, deflect the force of improvised explosive devices and other blasts from below.
Whitman emphasized that MRAPs aren't likely to replace all Humvees.
"Typically, what a commander will do is pick the tools that are best for the mission he is about to go out and do," Whitman said. "There are times when a particular vehicle makes sense for a particular type of mission, but not necessarily for another."
Commanders will assess, among other factors, whether their troops were mounted or dismounted and how much mobility and protection they needed during a particular operation, he said.
Ultimately, Whitman said there is no "one solution fits all" answer to protecting troops from roadside bombs and other explosives. "You could go all the way up on the high end of armored protection, but everybody in body armor and M1 tanks, but it could be very constrictive in your ability to accomplish your mission," he said.
Even as MRAPs are hurried to the theater, private industry is busy working on improving on the models that will replace them.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, praised these efforts during the June 29 news conference. "One of the main reasons that we have the world's best military is because we have the world's best industry to back it up," he said. "We have got incredible patriots in our defense industries who are working very hard side by side with us to figure out the solution to these problems."
That technological know-how and patriotism are coming together to produce the best MRAP vehicles possible, Pace told reporters. "So as the MRAP comes on line, there's no doubt in my mind that as that's being produced, that other people in our industry are out looking for the thing that's going to replace the MRAP, because it's an evolutionary process," he said.
American Forces Press Service
July 2, 2007 – The Defense Department is taking unprecedented steps to get Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to deployed troops as quickly as possible - from fast-tracking the acquisition process to airlifting models as they roll off the assembly line. Marine Corps Systems Command flew a shipment of MRAPs to the theater this past weekend to cut the normal transit time, Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, told Pentagon reporters today. Marine Corps officials would not divulge details about how many vehicles were shipped, or specifically where they were destined to go, citing security concerns.
The delivery occurred just days after the Defense Department's Joint Requirements Oversight Council endorsed procuring as many MRAPs as industry can provide in fiscal 2008. The top-level panel, which validates military requirements, recommended evaluating the situation in Iraq periodically and adjusting the acquisition plan based on the need.
The JROC recommendation tracks with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' efforts to expedite MRAP fielding. Impressed by the Marine Corps' success in reducing casualties due to roadside bombs and other explosives, Gates declared the MRAP acquisition effort a top priority and formed a task force to move it forward.
"What is clear is that the department is embarking on an aggressive acquisition strategy to put as many of these armored vehicles into the field as fast as possible," Whitman said.
Defense Department and military services are reaching out to industry to "incentivize" companies to boost production while reducing the production timetable, Whitman said.
Force Protection Industries, which delivered the MRAPs what were airlifted the weekend, reported that its factory in Charleston, S.C., is hiring dozens of new employees every week to churn out the vehicles "as fast as humanly possible."
Another MRAP manufacturer, General Dynamics Land Systems announced last week that it had delivered its first MRAPs to the Marine Corps less than 120 days after getting its first production order.
"The companies that have been awarded the contracts are ramping up their production capabilities," Gates told reporters during a June 29 news conference. "I am pressing them very hard to see where they can cut the time scale as well as increase their production."
The goal, Whitman said, is to bridge the gap in the level of protection offered by up-armored Humvees and more heavily armored vehicles such as M2 Bradley fighting vehicles and M1 Abrams tanks. MRAPs, with their raised, V-shaped underbellies, deflect the force of improvised explosive devices and other blasts from below.
Whitman emphasized that MRAPs aren't likely to replace all Humvees.
"Typically, what a commander will do is pick the tools that are best for the mission he is about to go out and do," Whitman said. "There are times when a particular vehicle makes sense for a particular type of mission, but not necessarily for another."
Commanders will assess, among other factors, whether their troops were mounted or dismounted and how much mobility and protection they needed during a particular operation, he said.
Ultimately, Whitman said there is no "one solution fits all" answer to protecting troops from roadside bombs and other explosives. "You could go all the way up on the high end of armored protection, but everybody in body armor and M1 tanks, but it could be very constrictive in your ability to accomplish your mission," he said.
Even as MRAPs are hurried to the theater, private industry is busy working on improving on the models that will replace them.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, praised these efforts during the June 29 news conference. "One of the main reasons that we have the world's best military is because we have the world's best industry to back it up," he said. "We have got incredible patriots in our defense industries who are working very hard side by side with us to figure out the solution to these problems."
That technological know-how and patriotism are coming together to produce the best MRAP vehicles possible, Pace told reporters. "So as the MRAP comes on line, there's no doubt in my mind that as that's being produced, that other people in our industry are out looking for the thing that's going to replace the MRAP, because it's an evolutionary process," he said.
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Robb L. Rolfing, 29, of Milton, Mass., died June 30 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Carson, Colo.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the U.S. Army Special Operations Command public affairs office at (910) 432-6005.
Staff Sgt. Robb L. Rolfing, 29, of Milton, Mass., died June 30 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Carson, Colo.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the U.S. Army Special Operations Command public affairs office at (910) 432-6005.
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Victor A. Garcia, 22, of Rialto, Calif., died July 1 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0148, or after hours at (253) 967-0015.
Spc. Victor A. Garcia, 22, of Rialto, Calif., died July 1 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0148, or after hours at (253) 967-0015.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of five soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.They died June 28 of wounds sustained when their unit was attacked in Baghdad by insurgents using improvised explosive devices.They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Killed were:
Sgt. Shin W. Kim, 23, of Fullerton, Calif.,
Sgt. Michael J. Martinez, 24, of Chula Vista, Calif.,
Sgt. Giann C. Joya Mendoza, 27, of North Hollywood, Calif.,
Spc. Dustin L. Workman II, 19, of Greenwood, Neb.
Pfc. Cory F. Hiltz, 20, of La Verne, Calif.
For more information related to this release, media may contact the Fort Carson public affairs office at (719) 526-3420; after hours (719) 526-5500.
Killed were:
Sgt. Shin W. Kim, 23, of Fullerton, Calif.,
Sgt. Michael J. Martinez, 24, of Chula Vista, Calif.,
Sgt. Giann C. Joya Mendoza, 27, of North Hollywood, Calif.,
Spc. Dustin L. Workman II, 19, of Greenwood, Neb.
Pfc. Cory F. Hiltz, 20, of La Verne, Calif.
For more information related to this release, media may contact the Fort Carson public affairs office at (719) 526-3420; after hours (719) 526-5500.
Iraq Training Team Commander Expresses Confidence Iraqis Will Succeed
By Melinda L. Larson
American Forces Press Service
July 1, 2007 – Iraq's military forces are committed to standing on their own, the officer in charge of their training told bloggers June 28, and he expressed confidence that Iraq's army, navy, air force and police will succeed. "What we do see from the Iraqis is a commitment to continuing to improve and a desire and a passion to be more responsible for all things military," Army Brig. Gen. Terry Wolff, commander of the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team, said during a teleconference from Iraq. "They very much want to be able to do this themselves."
The Coalition Military Assistance Training Team is the military training arm of the Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq. The command was formed to help the Iraqi government train, mentor and equip Iraq's security forces. Wolff's team operates from two training centers in Iraq.
With each passing day, Wolff said, he is seeing the Iraqi forces take shape and evolve as they gain confidence in their decision making. "They are making decisions. With every day they are more in charge," Wolff said.
Wolff added that while he may not agree with some of those decisions, he is still encouraged.
"They tend to make decisions that we don't always agree with, but so be it. In many of those instances, they don't reflect a lack of desire or will; they reflect the fact that they're going to choose courses of action that may be just a bit different than the way we would do that.
"I cannot find fault with that, but that's the nature of sovereignty and the ability to make decisions for yourself and then have to deal with those consequences," Wolff added. "I continue to be encouraged by the fact that they are trying to improve."
The improvements of the Iraqi forces as they work toward autonomy are dealt with on many fronts, from leadership to logistics.
"We've had a lot of luck continuing to work with the Iraqi leaders to get them to better embrace some of the logistical challenges they have to work through," Wolff explained. "They're standing up a support command, which was something that we were working with them on, but we're getting a little closer to get the headquarters portion of it stood up. But the first step is getting our Iraqi brothers to buy into this and recognize its importance and utility, and they've begun to do that."
Transitioning the Iraqi military's vehicle fleet from contracted maintenance to their own repair shops is another challenge.
"They're trying to work through their maintenance challenges," Wolff said. "We have helped provide them over 14,000 vehicles, and now we're trying to help work with them to get them off a maintenance system which was mostly contracted to one in which they're going to do the maintenance themselves," Wolff said, adding the transition time for the turnover could take eight to 12 months.
While a lot of the training and build-up of a support force is happening behind the scenes, establishing a regional base logistical system to support the front lines is another priority.
"Some of the warehouses that they tend to operate from are a little further to the east than where the division's parent base is," he explained. "We helped establish a regional base logistical system for them, and what grows a little more complex is when you're using more of the force in an area that's a distance away from where that geographical base is.
"Higher-level division logistical officers are supposed to be looking out for that, so no soldier on the battlefield runs out of anything. I mean, that's the goal, is to make sure the fighting man's got everything he needs," Wolff said.
As the fight continues, Wolff said he and his transition team of coaches, teachers and mentors strive to give the Iraqi forces everything they need to succeed.
"To some extent, I think we all have a greater hope that the Iraqis continue to improve. We all want them to be better, and their leaders want them to be better too. There's no lack of desire here," Wolff said.
The general added he gets encouragement from the people around him. "My thanks go to all those great coalition soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that continue doing this job every single day, and so they are who encourage me even more than my Iraqi brothers," the general said.
American Forces Press Service
July 1, 2007 – Iraq's military forces are committed to standing on their own, the officer in charge of their training told bloggers June 28, and he expressed confidence that Iraq's army, navy, air force and police will succeed. "What we do see from the Iraqis is a commitment to continuing to improve and a desire and a passion to be more responsible for all things military," Army Brig. Gen. Terry Wolff, commander of the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team, said during a teleconference from Iraq. "They very much want to be able to do this themselves."
The Coalition Military Assistance Training Team is the military training arm of the Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq. The command was formed to help the Iraqi government train, mentor and equip Iraq's security forces. Wolff's team operates from two training centers in Iraq.
With each passing day, Wolff said, he is seeing the Iraqi forces take shape and evolve as they gain confidence in their decision making. "They are making decisions. With every day they are more in charge," Wolff said.
Wolff added that while he may not agree with some of those decisions, he is still encouraged.
"They tend to make decisions that we don't always agree with, but so be it. In many of those instances, they don't reflect a lack of desire or will; they reflect the fact that they're going to choose courses of action that may be just a bit different than the way we would do that.
"I cannot find fault with that, but that's the nature of sovereignty and the ability to make decisions for yourself and then have to deal with those consequences," Wolff added. "I continue to be encouraged by the fact that they are trying to improve."
The improvements of the Iraqi forces as they work toward autonomy are dealt with on many fronts, from leadership to logistics.
"We've had a lot of luck continuing to work with the Iraqi leaders to get them to better embrace some of the logistical challenges they have to work through," Wolff explained. "They're standing up a support command, which was something that we were working with them on, but we're getting a little closer to get the headquarters portion of it stood up. But the first step is getting our Iraqi brothers to buy into this and recognize its importance and utility, and they've begun to do that."
Transitioning the Iraqi military's vehicle fleet from contracted maintenance to their own repair shops is another challenge.
"They're trying to work through their maintenance challenges," Wolff said. "We have helped provide them over 14,000 vehicles, and now we're trying to help work with them to get them off a maintenance system which was mostly contracted to one in which they're going to do the maintenance themselves," Wolff said, adding the transition time for the turnover could take eight to 12 months.
While a lot of the training and build-up of a support force is happening behind the scenes, establishing a regional base logistical system to support the front lines is another priority.
"Some of the warehouses that they tend to operate from are a little further to the east than where the division's parent base is," he explained. "We helped establish a regional base logistical system for them, and what grows a little more complex is when you're using more of the force in an area that's a distance away from where that geographical base is.
"Higher-level division logistical officers are supposed to be looking out for that, so no soldier on the battlefield runs out of anything. I mean, that's the goal, is to make sure the fighting man's got everything he needs," Wolff said.
As the fight continues, Wolff said he and his transition team of coaches, teachers and mentors strive to give the Iraqi forces everything they need to succeed.
"To some extent, I think we all have a greater hope that the Iraqis continue to improve. We all want them to be better, and their leaders want them to be better too. There's no lack of desire here," Wolff said.
The general added he gets encouragement from the people around him. "My thanks go to all those great coalition soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that continue doing this job every single day, and so they are who encourage me even more than my Iraqi brothers," the general said.
Phantom Thunder, Related Operations Continue in Iraq
American Forces Press Service
July 1, 2007 – Operation Phantom Thunder and other offensive military operations in Iraq continue to turn up terrorist leaders, enemy fighters and weapons intended for use against Iraqi and coalition forces and Iraqi citizens, military officials reported. Today, coalition forces in Iraq's Ninewah and Anbar provinces detained 14 suspected terrorists during operations aimed at capturing or killing al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and their operatives.
In Mosul, coalition forces captured an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq senior leader and three other suspected terrorists during an early morning raid. Coalition officials said the senior leader is responsible for directing rocket attacks in Ninewah province.
In Anbar, coalition forces raided two buildings in Karmah looking for a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq leader. Forces detained two men who had a stash of grenades and found two weapons caches filled with explosive chemicals and bomb-making materials. An explosives team safely destroyed the cache on site, and ground forces detained three more suspected terrorists there.
Two more operations in Anbar province netted five suspected terrorists. Forces searched three buildings west of Tarmiyah looking for an al Qaeda in Iraq cell leader and detained two individuals for their alleged involvement with the cell. Coalition troops also raided two buildings west of Abu Ghraib, targeting a terrorist believed to be involved in car-bomb attacks against coalition forces, and detained three suspected terrorists.
Also today, coalition forces detained three suspected secret cell terrorists before dawn in North Adamiya, near Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. Officials said the suspects have close ties to Iranian terror networks and are believed to be responsible for numerous attacks on Iraqi civilians as well as Iraqi and coalition forces in Baghdad. They also are suspected of recruiting Iraqis to fill the ranks of Iranian terror groups operating in Iraq. No shots were fired when coalition forces conducted the precision raid.
U.S. soldiers captured the six men during operations in East Baghdad yesterday. The soldiers conducted the operation based on tips received from residents in the Kamaliyah neighborhood. The suspects are being held for questioning.
On June 29, Apache helicopters engaged insurgents who had fired on ground forces in southern Baghdad, killing one and wounding another.
"Our increased aerial presence over the numerous mahallas (neighborhoods) that are being cleared in Operation Fardh al Qanoon has led to desperate acts by (the enemy)," said Army Capt. Ryan Sullivan, an Apache pilot who commanded the lead aircraft during the mission. "We were able to locate the insurgents and engage (them) at a known (enemy) gathering place. This engagement contributed to the safety of the ground troops as they continue to clear the mahallas."
Also on June 29, Iraqi soldiers detained five suspected al Qaeda in Iraq cell members in southern Baghdad. The suspected terrorists allegedly are responsible for several attacks on coalition forces. In particular, this terrorist cell and its members are accused of coordinating a complex attack on coalition forces, planting roadside bombs and organizing sniper attacks on coalition patrols. The Iraq soldiers seized computers, cell phones and weapons used in the terrorist cell operation. This operation will disrupt a major terrorist cell in Doura, officials said.
In other news from Iraq, coalition officials yesterday identified a man killed in a June 29 attack as a senior al Qaeda in Iraq foreign terrorist. Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Masri, an Egyptian, was killed east of Fallujah. Intelligence reports indicate he worked directly for Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the military emir of al Qaeda in Iraq, and is associated with other al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders.
Intelligence reports further indicate he was assessed to be responsible for participating in terrorist courts and issuing terrorism-related religious decrees. He fought with Abu Ayyub al-Masri in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003, and later came to Iraq with him.
Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Masri also fought in both battles of Fallujah, and was injured in one. He was detained for six months, and upon his release, moved to Syria, where he began working with the network that facilitates the movement of foreign fighters into Iraq. He returned to Iraq late last year, officials said.
He was positively identified by several known associates and other detainees from this and previous operations, officials added.
In other news, Defense Department officials have changed the status of two soldiers missing since May 12 to "Missing-Captured." They had been listed as "Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown."
Army Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich., and Army Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., went missing after enemy forces attacked their patrol. Fouty and Jimenez are assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. The body of a third soldier who went missing after the attack -- Army Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif. -- was found May 23.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq, and Defense Department news releases.)
July 1, 2007 – Operation Phantom Thunder and other offensive military operations in Iraq continue to turn up terrorist leaders, enemy fighters and weapons intended for use against Iraqi and coalition forces and Iraqi citizens, military officials reported. Today, coalition forces in Iraq's Ninewah and Anbar provinces detained 14 suspected terrorists during operations aimed at capturing or killing al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and their operatives.
In Mosul, coalition forces captured an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq senior leader and three other suspected terrorists during an early morning raid. Coalition officials said the senior leader is responsible for directing rocket attacks in Ninewah province.
In Anbar, coalition forces raided two buildings in Karmah looking for a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq leader. Forces detained two men who had a stash of grenades and found two weapons caches filled with explosive chemicals and bomb-making materials. An explosives team safely destroyed the cache on site, and ground forces detained three more suspected terrorists there.
Two more operations in Anbar province netted five suspected terrorists. Forces searched three buildings west of Tarmiyah looking for an al Qaeda in Iraq cell leader and detained two individuals for their alleged involvement with the cell. Coalition troops also raided two buildings west of Abu Ghraib, targeting a terrorist believed to be involved in car-bomb attacks against coalition forces, and detained three suspected terrorists.
Also today, coalition forces detained three suspected secret cell terrorists before dawn in North Adamiya, near Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. Officials said the suspects have close ties to Iranian terror networks and are believed to be responsible for numerous attacks on Iraqi civilians as well as Iraqi and coalition forces in Baghdad. They also are suspected of recruiting Iraqis to fill the ranks of Iranian terror groups operating in Iraq. No shots were fired when coalition forces conducted the precision raid.
U.S. soldiers captured the six men during operations in East Baghdad yesterday. The soldiers conducted the operation based on tips received from residents in the Kamaliyah neighborhood. The suspects are being held for questioning.
On June 29, Apache helicopters engaged insurgents who had fired on ground forces in southern Baghdad, killing one and wounding another.
"Our increased aerial presence over the numerous mahallas (neighborhoods) that are being cleared in Operation Fardh al Qanoon has led to desperate acts by (the enemy)," said Army Capt. Ryan Sullivan, an Apache pilot who commanded the lead aircraft during the mission. "We were able to locate the insurgents and engage (them) at a known (enemy) gathering place. This engagement contributed to the safety of the ground troops as they continue to clear the mahallas."
Also on June 29, Iraqi soldiers detained five suspected al Qaeda in Iraq cell members in southern Baghdad. The suspected terrorists allegedly are responsible for several attacks on coalition forces. In particular, this terrorist cell and its members are accused of coordinating a complex attack on coalition forces, planting roadside bombs and organizing sniper attacks on coalition patrols. The Iraq soldiers seized computers, cell phones and weapons used in the terrorist cell operation. This operation will disrupt a major terrorist cell in Doura, officials said.
In other news from Iraq, coalition officials yesterday identified a man killed in a June 29 attack as a senior al Qaeda in Iraq foreign terrorist. Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Masri, an Egyptian, was killed east of Fallujah. Intelligence reports indicate he worked directly for Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the military emir of al Qaeda in Iraq, and is associated with other al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders.
Intelligence reports further indicate he was assessed to be responsible for participating in terrorist courts and issuing terrorism-related religious decrees. He fought with Abu Ayyub al-Masri in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003, and later came to Iraq with him.
Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Masri also fought in both battles of Fallujah, and was injured in one. He was detained for six months, and upon his release, moved to Syria, where he began working with the network that facilitates the movement of foreign fighters into Iraq. He returned to Iraq late last year, officials said.
He was positively identified by several known associates and other detainees from this and previous operations, officials added.
In other news, Defense Department officials have changed the status of two soldiers missing since May 12 to "Missing-Captured." They had been listed as "Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown."
Army Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich., and Army Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., went missing after enemy forces attacked their patrol. Fouty and Jimenez are assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. The body of a third soldier who went missing after the attack -- Army Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif. -- was found May 23.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq, and Defense Department news releases.)
Taliban Continue Human Shield Tactics in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service
July 1, 2007 – Taliban terrorists continue to use innocent civilians as shields, NATO officials in Afghanistan said today. Afghan and American soldiers under International Security Assistance Force command participated in Operation Ghartse Ghar in Helmand province yesterday. The goal was to clear Taliban forces from both sides of the Helmand River in the village of Haderabad.
After battling enemy forces most of the day, Afghan and coalition forces came under heavy fire from enemy small arms, medium machine guns, 82 mm mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
The Afghan and coalition forces identified several enemy positions during this exchange, including mortar positions, observation posts, compounds and a trench system. They returned fire and called in close-air support. All enemy positions were destroyed in the engagement.
Though Afghan and coalition forces appear to have fired at clearly identified firing positions, said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force 82, there are reports of civilian casualties.
"After our forces surveyed the area, there are reports of some possible civilian deaths," Belcher said. The troops found the remains of innocent civilians who were killed in firing positions in a trench line.
"We are deeply saddened by any loss of innocent lives," Belcher said. "Insurgents are continuing their tactic of using women and children as human shields in close combat with friendly forces."
In Ghazni province, Afghan and coalition forces detained a number of insurgents during an operation today.
No shots were fired and no one was injured in the operation.
Coalition forces acted on credible intelligence which indicated the location was a hideout for foreign fighters connected to the Haqqani network, officials said. The detainees will be questioned as to their identities and involvement in militant activities.
(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)
July 1, 2007 – Taliban terrorists continue to use innocent civilians as shields, NATO officials in Afghanistan said today. Afghan and American soldiers under International Security Assistance Force command participated in Operation Ghartse Ghar in Helmand province yesterday. The goal was to clear Taliban forces from both sides of the Helmand River in the village of Haderabad.
After battling enemy forces most of the day, Afghan and coalition forces came under heavy fire from enemy small arms, medium machine guns, 82 mm mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
The Afghan and coalition forces identified several enemy positions during this exchange, including mortar positions, observation posts, compounds and a trench system. They returned fire and called in close-air support. All enemy positions were destroyed in the engagement.
Though Afghan and coalition forces appear to have fired at clearly identified firing positions, said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force 82, there are reports of civilian casualties.
"After our forces surveyed the area, there are reports of some possible civilian deaths," Belcher said. The troops found the remains of innocent civilians who were killed in firing positions in a trench line.
"We are deeply saddened by any loss of innocent lives," Belcher said. "Insurgents are continuing their tactic of using women and children as human shields in close combat with friendly forces."
In Ghazni province, Afghan and coalition forces detained a number of insurgents during an operation today.
No shots were fired and no one was injured in the operation.
Coalition forces acted on credible intelligence which indicated the location was a hideout for foreign fighters connected to the Haqqani network, officials said. The detainees will be questioned as to their identities and involvement in militant activities.
(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)
Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. William W. Crow Jr., 28, of Grandview Plaza, Kan., died June 28 in Baghdad, of wounds sustained when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Riley public affairs office at (785) 239-3410.
Sgt. William W. Crow Jr., 28, of Grandview Plaza, Kan., died June 28 in Baghdad, of wounds sustained when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Riley public affairs office at (785) 239-3410.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
