Good News From The War On Terror 8/29
Concerned citizens root out terrorists
ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq – The citizens of Iraq are fighting back against terrorists in one Sunni dominated area south of Baghdad.
Paratroopers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 501st Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, are now fighting the enemy with information from hundreds of citizens who have pledged responsibility for the security of their neighborhoods.
The Concerned Citizens Program is similar to an all-volunteer Neighborhood Watch. During a recent operation to in Jurf as Sakhr, concerned citizens led Iraqi Soldiers and U.S. Paratroopers to a stronghold where five al-Qaeda members were killed after Paratroopers called in precision air strikes from helicopter gunships and U.S. Air Force fighter jets to destroy the building.
This has been the first attempted attack by al-Qaeda and other extremists since the Concerned Citizens Program began almost two months ago.
There are now more than 500 registered members of the Concerned Citizens Program who have volunteered to protect their villages and roads while they await training for the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police forces.
At least 300 concerned citizens have already been accepted into the Iraqi Army. Moltz estimates another 300 people will register for the Concerned Citizens Program in the next few weeks, and that the Iraqi Police will begin to accept the concerned citizens into their ranks within the next month.
Jurf as Sahkr has long been one of the most hostile and dangerous areas of Iraq.
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Army Scouts, with U.S. Special Forces as advisers, detained three suspected al Qaeda in Iraq leaders, including the al Qaeda in Iraq Emir for operations in Samarra, during an intelligence driven operation Aug. 28 in Tikrit.
The three suspects are linked to the Mosul-based Islamic State of Iraq, an organization established as a front for Al Qaeda in Iraq. Intelligence indicates the three are linked to an attack on Coalition Forces Aug. 26 in Samarra that killed two Coalition Soldiers and two innocent civilians. Coalition Forces repelled the attack, killing at least a dozen insurgents and capturing 14 others.
One of the other detainees is reportedly an al Qaeda in Iraq military coordinator for operations around Samarra while the third detainee is believed to be a local facilitator for al Qaeda operations in Tikrit. Reports indicate all three individuals had recently arrived in Tikrit from Samarra.
Coalition Forces target terrorist leaders; 2 terrorists killed, 22 suspects detained
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces killed two terrorists and detained 22 suspected terrorists during operations in central and northern Iraq Wednesday targeting senior leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq and their networks.
South of Baghdad, Coalition Forces killed two terrorists as they targeted a Syrian-based explosives expert who facilitates the movement of foreign terrorists in Iraq and is tied to several senior leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq. As the assault force approached the target building, they observed a terrorist armed with a rocket-propelled grenade and determined the area was hostile. The ground forces fired on the armed terrorist but could not assess if he was killed. Another man emerged from the target building and refused to comply with the interpreter’s instructions. When he made threatening movements toward the assault force, Coalition Forces defended against the hostile threat by engaging and killing him. The assault force also encountered an armed man outside a nearby building, and when the man drew his weapon on them, Coalition Forces responded in self-defense, engaging and killing him.
In three related raids around Tarmiyah, Coalition Forces continued to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq’s networks and leadership, targeting the emir of the northern belt around Baghdad and his associates. The ground forces captured the alleged administrative emir of Tarmiyah and six individuals suspected to be part of the terrorist network that attacks Coalition Forces and Iraqi civilians.
Coalition Forces conducted two raids in the northern Tigris River Valley targeting senior leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq and captured a suspected close associate of a regional terrorist emir. The ground forces detained 14 additional suspects for their alleged ties to al-Qaeda in Iraq’s networks in Bayji and Mosul.
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Special Operations Forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisers, detained a suspected battalion commander of a rogue element of the Jaysh al Mahdi militia and one suspected insurgent during an intelligence-driven operation in Baghdad Aug. 27.
The suspected Shi’a extremist operates in Qhadirah, an area in Baghdad. Reports indicate he directs a group that targets Iraqi citizens for kidnapping and extrajudicial killings. The alleged leader also maintains connections to insurgents in the Hayani area, Baghdad and Basrah.
Intelligence indicates the targeted individual’s group is also responsible for emplacing explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, in Sadr City targeting Iraqi and Coalition Forces.
The men are currently being detained for questioning for their involvement in criminal activities and the deaths of local citizens.
Four suspected insurgents captured in eastern Baghdad
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq — Soldiers from the Multi-National Division-Baghdad and Iraqi Security Forces captured four suspected insurgents and recovered a small weapons cache during a security operation in the Karadah District of eastern Baghdad Aug. 28.
The operation, carried out by Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, and the 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, was part of an ongoing effort to clear insurgent strongholds in the area.
The four suspects detained are now being held for further questioning. The troops uncovered two AK-47 assault rifles, one spotting scope, and three eye pieces in the operation.
