Apparently taking advice from General Harry Reid (aka Senate Majority Leader), US Forces are taking down al Qaeda where ever they find them. Strangely, they are finding them every where.
Like in Fallujah
Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces killed seven members of Al Qaeda in Iraq, detained eight suspects and destroyed a truck bomb factory in the Sina’ee district of Fallujah Saturday.
The combined operation was conducted by the Fallujah Police, Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division and Marines from Regimental Combat Team 6 after receiving information from local sources.
At 7:05 a.m., Fallujah Police came under small-arms fire and identified two men fleeing from the scene wearing suicide vests and carrying fragmentation grenades. A Marine advisory team with the police returned fire, killing both AQI.
Soon thereafter, five additional AQI were observed fleeing the area when Marines with 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment engaged the group killing all five and causing a suicide vest to detonate.
The gunfight ceased at 9 a.m. and a subsequent search of the area revealed a compound with two trucks rigged as suicide bombs and additional bomb making materials.
Iraqi and Coalition Forces cleared the area, established a perimeter and requested an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team to the scene.
EOD safely conducted a controlled detonation of the truck bombs and materials without damage to nearby buildings.
Eight personnel were detained and taken to the Fallujah Government Center for questioning.
There were no Iraqi or Coalition Forces injured during the incident.
And they are in Hit and Baghdad
Coalition Forces killed one terrorist and detained eight suspected terrorists, including an alleged senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, in operations Saturday targeting the terrorist network.
Coalition Forces raided a building in Hit while tracking an al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist leader. The ground force detained three suspected terrorists there, one of whom is allegedly the military emir of the area and works directly with other high-level al-Qaeda operatives in Anbar province.
West of Baghdad, Coalition Forces detained four suspected terrorists, including one individual who allegedly builds and plants improvised explosive devices for use in the Karkh neighborhood of Baghdad. Coalition Forces also found two vehicles known to transport weapons and personnel for al-Qaeda in Iraq operations, which they destroyed on-site.
And they are in Mosul and Tikrit
Acting on a tip from a detained insurgent, Iraqi Security Forces captured a suspected key leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq during a raid in Mosul May 29.
The targeted individual is allegedly responsible for constructing both vehicle-borne and emplaced improvised explosive devices that contain chlorine gas in order to attack and kill innocent civilians.
The captured individual is also suspected of assisting in the movement of insurgents from Syria into Iraq.
During a second operation in Tikrit May 29, Iraqi Army Forces detained four individuals believed to be members of the terrorist criminal networks of al-Qaeda in Iraq and Jaysh al-Islam engaged in murder and kidnappings for ransom.
Yes they are all over the place.
Coalition Forces killed six terrorists and detained 18 suspected terrorists in operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq Thursday and Friday.
North of Fallujah Thursday afternoon, Coalition Forces conducted an operation to capture suspected terrorists allegedly associated with al-Qaeda senior leadership. Coalition Forces attempted to stop their vehicle, but when the suspected terrorists resisted, Coalition Forces used proper escalation of force measures and engaged the vehicle with automatic weapons, killing three men.
Inside the vehicle, Coalition Forces found two mortar rounds, a rifle and an approximately 100-pound improvised explosive device. The vehicle and heavy explosives were safely destroyed on site.
While Coalition Forces were at the scene, they received small arms fire from a nearby orchard. Taking appropriate self-defense measures, the ground forces engaged the armed terrorists, killing three. Coalition Forces also found grenades and assault vests in the orchard.
In a follow-on operation Friday morning, Coalition Forces detained one suspected terrorist in a building north of Fallujah for his alleged ties to al-Qaeda senior leaders.
Also Friday, Coalition Forces targeted an al-Qaeda in Iraq commander allegedly involved in IED attacks against Iraqi and Coalition Forces southwest of Baghdad Friday morning. Ten suspected terrorists were detained for their ties to the senior leader.
Two coordinated operations in Taji targeted an al-Qaeda senior leader and his network. Coalition Forces detained seven individuals linked to a group allegedly responsible for mortar and rocket attacks against Coalition Forces; IED and vehicle-borne IED attacks across western Baghdad; and the bombing of the Sarafiyah bridge.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver of the Multi-National Force-Iraq confirmed the Army's dedication to General Reid's plan
“We’re continuing to target al-Qaeda in Iraq, and these terrorists are failing to evade us. The kill or capture of terrorists gives the people of Iraq the opportunity to build a peaceful country where deadly terrorists do not exist.”
Yes sir Reid. Also, the Army has decided that General Reid was right about there not being a military solution
Last year ten provisional reconstruction teams (PRTs) were created throughout the country to operate parallel to the military. Each PRT was headed up by a foreign service officer; had a deputy from the U.S. Army; had at least one member from USAID; and had a bilingual, bicultural advisor (fluent in Arabic with a background that allows him to understand the Middle East). Typically there would be about ten people total working for a PRT. The PRTs were designed to further the U.S. mission in Iraq by helping to advance the political process of reconstruction in a variety of ways. Top-down change was characteristic of the PRTs: they would work with such political entities as city councils and the policymaking portion of a city's department of public works.
The EPRTs are different. Rather than operating separately from and parallel to the military, they are embedded within the military structure. Six EPRTs operate in Baghdad, three in Anbar, and one in Babil. Their structure is similar to that of the PRTs (run by a foreign service officer, featuring a U.S. Army deputy, a USAID member, a bicultural advisor, and other staffers) but rather than functioning in the top-down manner of the PRTs, the EPRTs are designed to make more of a difference at what the official called the "granular" level. That is, the EPRTs are integrated into the military's tactical operations, and are designed to advance reconstruction efforts on a street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood basis. I previously noted that the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery (with which I was embedded) has four lines of operation in the districts it patrols: security, governance, economy, and essential services. It is at this tactical level -- the level of how these lines of operation can be furthered -- that the EPRT is supposed to have an impact in helping to set the course for the units with which it works. The EPRTs help set this course all the way down to the platoon level.
I guess the only thing said by General Reid that the military leaders in Iraq don't believe is that the war is lost. But that's a minor point really; don't you think?
Other than that, they thank General Reid for his "new direction" in fighting the war.
