It appears a major push is underway with a well-planned series of operations coexisting under the umbrella of an Operation called Hunter. And it seems to me the plan is to clear and fix a position close to the Syrian border and block the smuggling routes first. Then sweep up from the south driving the bad guys into the anvil. Hunter is the Anvil. Iron Fist, River Gate, and Mountineer are the hammer.
Operation Hunter itself first began in July
...when an Army squadron of Stryker vehicles, augmented for intelligence gathering, rolled south from Mosul to set up an outpost near the Euphrates River town of Rawah. The contingent of more than 1,000 troops established an American presence on the north side of the river; the Marines had been operating on the south side. Also arriving in Rawah was an Iraqi Intervention Force battalion.
The troops have imposed tight controls on traffic that now must use the single bridge in Rawah. U.S. warplanes this month blew up two smaller pontoon bridges farther west in the towns of Karabilah and New Ubaydi, making the Rawah river crossing even more critical.
And the second phase began on Sept 20th US forces began
bolstering forces in western Iraq's Euphrates River valley, hoping to choke the flow of foreign fighters along what intelligence officers say has become the primary infiltration route from Syria toward Baghdad.
The buildup, called Operation Sayaid, is aimed at securing the border area around the restive town of Qaim and suppressing other insurgent activity in the villages that hug the winding banks of the Euphrates west of Baghdad.
'Iron Fist' Comes Down Heavy on Terrorists
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2005 The second day of Operation Kabda Bil Hadid, or "Iron Fist," resulted in successful engagements against terrorists in and around Sadah, about 12 kilometers east of the Syrian border, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported Oct. 2.
The effort continues with a force of about 1,000 Marines, soldiers and sailors from Regimental Combat Team 2. That force engaged seven terrorists west of Sadah with Marine aircraft at about 11:45 a.m., officials said.
Four terrorists were killed and the others fled into a nearby building. When the terrorists began firing, aviation assets were again called in, and the number of casualties was unknown at the time....
Iron Fist's goal is to root out al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists operating in the region and disrupt terrorist support systems in and around Sadah, officials said.
It is part of larger operation called Sayaid, or "Hunter." its goal is to keep al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq from operating freely in the Euphrates River Valley. It is also meant to prevent terrorists from influencing the local population through murder and intimidation, officials said.
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq – The 2nd Marine Division launched Operation Bawwabatu Annaher, or River Gate in English, in the cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana Oct. 4.
Approximately 2,500 Marines, Soldiers and Sailors from Regimental Combat Team – 2 and Iraqi Security force soldiers are participating in the operation, making it the largest operation in the al Anbar province this year.
The operation’s goal is to deny al Qaeda in Iraq the ability to operate in the three Euphrates River Valley cities and to free the local citizens from the terrorists’ campaign of murder and intimidation of innocent women, children and men.
Haditha is an important crossroads for al Qaeda in Iraq’s smuggling activities from the Syrian border. Once in Haditha, smugglers can go north to Mosul or continue on to ar Ramadi, Fallujah or Baghdad. The city is home to approximately 75,000 Iraqis, a vital hydro-electric power plant, and 28 schools.
Coalition and Iraqi forces located in western al Anbar province have seen a recent increase of al Qaeda in Iraq violence in Haditha. Last Spring, terrorists attacked Haditha General Hospital, the largest in western al Anbar, with a suicide car bomb, destroying more than half of the building with the explosion and ensuing fire. Terrorists also established fortified firing positions inside the hospital and used patients and staff as human shields as they attacked Marines from the hospital and later retreated from the Marine counterattack.
U.S. and Iraqi security forces also sealed off a district of Ramadi, 110 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, which they began to search, the military said.
Some 400 Iraqi forces and 500 U.S. soldiers were engaged in Operation Mountaineers in Tammin district "to disrupt insurgents in southern Ramadi who are transporting weapons and munitions into the city."
The Fourth Rail has more on Operation Hunter and River Gate with maps! The Belmont Club has maps too.
