Iraqi Forces, Local Citizens Help to Reduce Violence in Northern Iraq

We have some fantastic, caring soldiers fighting for us... and for those in Iraq! The commitment these soldiers have to helping others is really something. It amazes me that while they're tough, ready and willing to fight, they also have a heart. We have every reason to be thankful to all of those who signed up to protect our country and our freedoms! Take a moment from your Thanksgiving day and say THANKS to and for our military.

Iraqi Forces, Local Citizens Help to Reduce Violence in Northern Iraq

A robust partnership between coalition troops and Iraqi security forces and support from the Iraqi people is showing success in bringing down violence in Iraq's Multinational Division North sector, the troop commander there said today.

Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who also commands the Germany-based 1st Armored Division, told Pentagon reporters via videoconference that attacks in his area of operations are higher than anywhere else in Iraq.

However, Hertling noted "a marked reduction" in violence, particularly in improvised explosive device attacks. Enemy forces planted 1,830 IEDs in June, he said. By October, that number had dropped to about 900. As of today, the November number was 520.

Operation Iron Hammer, an ongoing counterinsurgency operation launched Nov. 5, is building on this success. To date, coalition and Iraqi forces detained 400 terror suspects and uncovered 79 weapons caches containing "an unbelievable amount of weapons and ammunition," Hertling said.

Among the weaponry was the largest cache of explosively formed projectiles yet to be discovered in Iraq. Hertling said there's no question these armor-piercing EFPs originated in Iran, but said he has no indication they arrived since Iran pledged to stop these shipments. "I am hopeful the Iranians are keeping their promise to not interfere with the international security conditions of Iraq by supplying either arms or equipment or trained personnel," he said.

Hertling said he's optimistic about the trends, but recognizes more attacks are likely. "You are still going to read about spectacular attacks," he said, particularly those targeting Iraqi security forces and concerned local citizens who have both become key partners in confronting the terrorist threat in the region.

Hertling noted steady increases in the capability of Iraqi security forces who have become solid partners in the counterinsurgency fight. During Iron Hammer, Hertling said, the Iraqis did more than he asked of them and performed at higher levels than he had expected.

"We've got a partner now," he said. "They are speaking the same language tactically and operationally that we are, and they are going after the same enemy we are."

Insurgents are noticing these improvements, too, and are likely to respond by singling out more Iraqi forces as targets, he said. "The enemy realizes that they're growing in capability, and if there is any kind of chance of stopping the representative movement of the government, that they have to attack the security forces," he said.

Similarly, Hertling said, the enemy recognizes the role local Iraqi citizens are playing in helping the coalition and Iraqi forces confront the terrorist threat in their neighborhoods. Nearly one-fourth of the weapons caches uncovered during Iron Hammer resulted from tips by local citizens.

"Iraqi citizens across the board are tired of seeing people use their country for a traumatic playground, and the Iraqi people have stepped up," Hertling said. "They are tired of the violence. They just want to go back to having their children go to school, farming their fields (and) running their businesses."

Coalition Forces Detain Dozens in Iraq Operations

I know I mentioned it in a previous blog, but I am getting really tired of never hearing anything good about the war in Iraq, etc. from main stream media. The news doesn'te exactly "fit" with the mission and flavor of the Fayette Front Page and the Georgia Front Page. We do local community news. What I've decided to do is occasionally post some stories on this blog. Most will be from the Armed Services folks, but I get them from all over. I'll try to give credit, depends on how fast I'm zooming that day...

Here's today's bit:

Coalition forces detained 16 suspects, including three wanted individuals, during operations today to disrupt al Qaeda in Iraq and foreign terrorist operations in central and northern Iraq.

-- During an operation in southern Baghdad, coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be involved in the car-bombing network in the Rusafa and Karkh areas. Reports indicated the suspect was associated with several of the network's senior leaders and allegedly tried to reestablish operations after significant degradation by coalition forces.

-- An operation northeast of the capital city netted an individual believed to be tied to foreign-terrorist facilitators and other senior al Qaeda leaders operating in Salman Pak. Coalition forces entered the target area and called for a building's occupants to come out. They complied without incident. The suspect identified himself to the ground forces and was detained.

-- Farther north in Mosul, coalition forces captured another wanted individual believed to be involved in the city's terrorist propaganda network. The ground force isolated the target building and called for the building's occupants to come out. During the operation, coalition forces found significant al Qaeda propaganda believed to be for distribution as part of the media network. The wanted individual identified himself to the ground forces and was detained.

-- In three separate operations near Salman Pak, Beiji and Mosul, coalition forces detained eight suspects while targeting alleged foreign-terrorist facilitators, couriers, associates of senior level al Qaeda members, and planners of improvised-explosive-device attacks against the Iraqi people.

"These captures are another step forward in disrupting al-Qaeda networks," said Army Maj. Winfield Danielson, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.

In raids yesterday, coalition forces detained 10 suspects during operations to disrupt al Qaeda in Iraq in central and northern Iraq.

Coalition forces captured a wanted individual during operations northeast of Baghdad targeting an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq financier. Reports indicated the wanted individual was an associate of senior terrorist leaders in the region, and his sons were believed to be snipers for the terrorist network. Upon entering the target area, coalition forces called for a building's occupants to come out, and the occupants complied without incident. The ground force found multiple weapons and detained five other suspects on site.

Meanwhile, south of Mosul, coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be a military commander familiar with improvised-explosive-device attacks and an associate of senior al Qaeda leaders in the area.

In other operations in the Beiji area, coalition forces detained two suspects while targeting foreign-terrorist facilitators, media networks and al Qaeda leaders responsible for improvised-explosive-device attacks in the region. "We are continuing to take the fight to the enemy," Danielson said. "Iraqi and coalition forces are diminishing al Qaeda's ability to attack the Iraqi people."

Elsewhere in Iraq yesterday, soldiers with 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, joined with Iraqi National Police officers in recovering a cache in eastern Baghdad. The find, made by soldiers of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, and officers of 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1stIraqi National Police Division, consisted of two mines and eight magazines, along with one radio. This was the sixth time in three weeks that Iraqi security forces had recovered a cache in eastern Baghdad.

In earlier operations:

-- Baghdad soldiers seized two suspected extremists and uncovered two caches during ongoing operations in the Rashid district of the Iraqi capital Nov. 9. "Warriors" from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, attached to 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, detained two men suspected of terrorist activities and identified by Iraqi security volunteers. The suspects are being held for further questioning.

-- Soldiers of Company D., 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry, found a weapons cache Nov. 9 in the Jazair neighborhood. The cache consisted of a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher, a PKC machine gun with two barrels, three RPG rounds and eight RPG boosters, a 60 mm mortar tube and two rounds, a bolt-action rifle, an AK-47 with 19 full magazines, four hand grenades, a suicide vest, three sets of body armor, about 3,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition, and 22 ski masks.

-- The "Black Lions" of Company C, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, attached to Task Force 1-18, part of the 4th Interim Brigade Combat Team. Soldiers found eight mortar rounds of various sizes, four RPG rounds, two rocket fuses, five radios, and a set of body armor. Both caches were taken to a coalition base for disposal.

–- Iraqi police conducted a combined operation with coalition forces against al Qaeda in Iraq west of Samarra on Nov. 9. During the operation, seven insurgents were killed, four were detained, and a weapons cache was secured.

–- Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 502nd Airborne, found a large cache during a combat patrol in Haswa on Nov. 9. The soldiers discovered the cache while setting up a cordon. They found a building containing 22 blocks of C4, one improvised Claymore mine, one propane tank of accelerant, and one 125 mm mortar round. Upon finding the cache, located near an area mosque, the soldiers called in an explosive ordnance disposal team to destroy the cache. All munitions found were destroyed in place.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)