Indiana Free Press - Indiana By the People, For the People

Iraqi, Coalition Forces Detain Suspects, Find Weapons

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 3 Jan 2009 14:45:02 -0800

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2009 – Iraqi and coalition forces detained numerous terrorism suspects and seized stockpiles of illegal weapons in various operations this week, military officials reported.

In Dec. 31 operations:

-- Iraqi security forces detained five people after an indirect-fire attack southwest of Kut in Wasit province.

-- Iraqi soldiers found a cache in Baghdad's Ameriyah neighborhood that contained homemade explosives, a detonation cord and blasting cap.

-- Acting on a resident's tip, Iraqi and U.S. soldiers recovered two rocket-propelled grenades in western Baghdad.

-- U.S. and Iraqi soldiers uncovered a cache north of Baghdad that contained three 107 mm projectiles.

In Dec. 30 operations:

-- Iraqi National Police, supported by coalition forces, detained two men who allegedly were involved in a recent bomb attack against a checkpoint in Baghdad's Aamel community manned by the "Sons of Iraq" citizen security group.

-- In Baghdad's Saydiyah community, Iraqi soldiers, supported by coalition forces, found three rocket-propelled grenades, three fuses, a battery and an unexploded 40 mm round. Later, Iraqi and coalition soldiers also found 15 mortar fuses in a vacant house in the area.

-- Iraqi and U.S. soldiers operating west of Baghdad seized a large weapons cache that included various rockets, mortars, grenades, fuses, a partially built bomb and a variety of bomb-making materials. Later, soldiers from the same units seized another cache in the area. The second cache contained 23 mortars.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

Coalition, Afghan Troops Kill Militants, Capture Suspects

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 3 Jan 2009 09:41:26 -0800

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2009 – Afghan and coalition forces killed numerous enemy fighters, captured terrorism suspects and repelled two attacks against bases in recent days, military officials reported.

Coalition and Afghan forces killed five militants and detained 10 suspects -- including a targeted Haqqani terrorist group militant and a Taliban subcommander -- during multiple operations in Afghanistan's Khowst and Zabul provinces yesterday.

Afghan and coalition forces netted the Haqqani leader during a combined operation in the Sabari district of Khowst province that left five armed militants dead and seven suspects detained.

As the combined force approached the targeted man's compound, several armed militants came out of the buildings and attacked the force with small-arms fire and hand grenades. The combined force returned fire, called in close-air support, and killed five armed militants. A search revealed several hand grenades and assault rifles, pistols and bomb-making materials.

An operation in Zabul province's Qalat district yesterday resulted in the capture of a Taliban subcommander known for weapons trafficking and planning attacks against coalition forces along Highway 1, the major north-south road connecting Kandahar to Kabul.
Coalition forces searched the targeted compound without incident and detained the subcommander and two other suspected militants while protecting nine women and 20 children.

In earlier operations:

-- Coalition forces killed eight armed Taliban militants and detained one suspect in Zabul province's Arghandad district Dec. 31. The operation targeted a Taliban subcommander wanted for his ties to a bombing network along Highway 1 and recent attacks against coalition forces. He also is believed to help foreign fighters enter the region. Coalition forces killed six militants who refused to leave the targeted compound, where a subsequent search revealed assault rifles, pistols and hand grenades. As coalition forces left the targeted building, armed militants moving along a nearby ridge attempted to engage them. The forces called in close-air support, and two armed militants were killed.

-- Afghan National police and coalition forces killed three insurgents who tried to attack a forward operating base in the Nahr Surkh district of Helmand province Dec. 31.

-- Afghan security guards thwarted a daytime insurgent attack on Shindand Airfield in western Afghanistan's Herat province Dec. 29. Afghan National Police officers detained four insurgents for questioning. One insurgent who was wounded during the operation received medical care from a coalition medic, but died of his wounds. An Afghan National Army cleric took possession of the body to ensure an appropriate burial in accordance with Islamic religious customs.

-- Afghan commandos and coalition forces killed an insurgent and detained five others during a Dec. 28 operation in Sanowghan in Herat province. The combined forces safeguarded two men, 12 women and 18 children during the operation. The insurgent killed had fired upon the commandos as they approached, and the commandos responded with small-arms fire. After the engagement, the combined forces met with village elders to discuss the reasons for the operation.

(Compiled from U.S. Forces Afghanistan news releases.)

Pakistani Forces Making ‘Good Progress' in Khyber Pass Offensive

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 3 Jan 2009 09:44:51 -0800

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2009 – The Pakistani military is making good progress against militants who have threatened a major supply route running from Pakistan into Afghanistan, U.S. officials said here today.

U.S. military officials in Afghanistan are "cautiously optimistic" regarding recent news reports that cite Pakistani forces' success in driving militants away from the Khyber Pass region, U.S. Forces Afghanistan spokesman Army Col. Jerry O'Hara said in a telephone interview with American Forces Press Service today.

Pakistani forces launched an offensive Dec. 30 to target militants who, in recent weeks, have attacked some supply convoys that transit the Khyber Pass.

That supply route runs hundreds of miles from the Pakistani port city of Karachi to Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan and then through the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan. The Khyber Pass route provides about 75 percent of the U.S. supplies to troops in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani military actions directed against militants who operate in the Khyber Pass area are providing "security of the Peshawar [supply] terminals and our supply lines," O'Hara said.

Pakistan's operations in the Khyber Pass region are achieving success, Washington-based U.S. State Department spokesman Fred Lash said today during a phone interview with American Forces Press Service.

"We certainly welcome that kind of cooperation we're seeing," Lash said, noting he understands that Pakistani forces "are making good progress" against the militants.

The United States appreciates Pakistan's actions against militants operating along the border with Afghanistan, Lash said, as well as Pakistan's arrests of suspects following the November terrorist attack on Mumbai, India.

"We welcome the full and transparent cooperation of Pakistan in all matters like this," Lash said. "Not only in trying to ferret out the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack, but actions such as this in the Khyber-Pass region just shows they are cooperating more in a lot of ways."

The Khyber Pass supply route was temporarily closed at the start of the Pakistani offensive, but U.S. Forces Afghanistan and NATO International Security Force officials had noted in a recent joint statement that closure of the supply route had "no immediate impact on our ability to provide supplies to the troops" in Afghanistan. Due to the offensive's success, the Khyber Pass route was reopened today, according to news reports.

Meanwhile, U.S. military officials have been looking for other supply-route options. U.S. Transportation Command's top officer, Air Force Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, traveled to several Central Asian countries in November to explore options for establishing added supply routes for Afghanistan operations, Transcom spokeswoman Cynthia Bauer said Dec. 31 during a telephone interview with American Forces Press Service. Transcom is based at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

"We've been looking at alternate distribution routes for a while," Bauer said.

U.S. Deaths in Iraq Decrease in 2008

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 2 Jan 2009 19:12:37 -0800

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2009 – The number of U.S. military fatalities in Iraq in 2008 fell two-thirds compared to the previous year, underscoring an improvement in security amid upcoming provincial elections.

Last year's casualty figure -- 314 -- marks a sharp reduction from 2007 when 904 troops died. The 2008 tally comes on the heels of a week in which the number of daily attacks in Iraq dropped nearly 95 percent compared to the same time last year.

"This is a dramatic improvement of safety throughout the country," Army Brig. Gen. David G. Perkins, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters in Baghdad last week, when the average number of daily attacks in Iraq was 10, compared to 180 a year earlier.

He added that the country's murder rates have dropped below levels that existed before the start of American operations in Iraq. In November, the ratio was .9 per 100,000 people.

Military and Defense Department officials have attributed security gains over the past year to a host of factors, including the now-completed surge of U.S. forces, Sunni fighters aligning themselves with Iraqi and coalition forces to help purge al-Qaida and maintain security, and a cease-fire pledge by prominent Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who controlled several militias.

Overall violence in Iraq has fallen some 80 percent since the surge of 33,000 U.S. forces began in January 2007.

Speaking in October about the reduced bloodshed in Iraq, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, emphasized the role of reinvigorated counterinsurgency tactics.

Put simply, counterinsurgency is a form of warfare in which a civilian population is in the center of a tug-of-war between an insurgency and the forces attempting to stop it. The Army and Marine Corps in late 2006 published a counterinsurgency strategy written by a host of contributors, including Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, who implemented its tenets while serving for 20 months as the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

"In my view, what really turned it around was the counterinsurgency tactics our troops embraced and perfected," Mullen said Oct. 8 at the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference.

While the security gains are significant, Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Multinational Force Iraq commander, warned in an interview with reporters in Baghdad last month against becoming complacent amid Iraq's improved security, a transfer of authority to Iraqi forces and an upcoming election.

"In military terms, transitions are the most dangerous times," the general said Dec. 23. "What we're trying to do is make sure we don't have any seams in our transition."

A piece of legislation hammered out by Washington and Baghdad -- known as the Status of Forces Agreement -- went into effect yesterday. The agreement supersedes the United Nations mandate for the coalition presence in Iraq, and transfers military operational authority to Iraqi forces with U.S. forces assuming a support, or "overwatch," role.

The deal becomes effective ahead of the scheduled Jan. 31 provincial elections in Iraq, which Odierno characterized as the next security test for combined forces.

"Al-Qaida will try to exploit the elections because they don't want them to happen. So I think they will attempt to create some violence and uncertainty in the population," he said. "The next 60 days are a critical period."

U.S. Turns Over Green Zone Security Responsibility to Iraq

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 1 Jan 2009 23:12:52 -0800

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1, 2009 – The United States formally transferred the Republican Palace back to the Iraqi government today, a concrete symbol of the continuing improvement in the country.

The transfer came about as the status of forces agreement between the United States and Iraq took effect.

The agreement replaces the United Nations mandate under which the coalition went into Iraq and has conducted operations there since. Under the agreement, Iraqi forces are now in the lead with U.S. forces in a supporting role or in overwatch.

Officials said that American troops are still on duty at some of the checkpoints in Green Zone, but they are there to train their Iraqi counterparts rather than with operational control.

"When you come up to a checkpoint, the Iraqis will check your identification. They will make the decision if you come in or go out, " said Army Maj. Gen. Dave Perkins, U.S. spokesman in Iraq. As a colonel, Perkins led the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division that conducted the Thunder Run in April 2003 that first entered Baghdad.

"We will continue to be there to provide some technical capacity, to provide some mentoring, but you will see less and less American forces and more and more Iraqi forces – and they will have the majority of the responsibility for making those key decisions which determine the security of the capital," Perkins said.

The American effort has shifted down the river to the embassy. The new embassy – the largest U.S. embassy in the world – is open for business. Officials at the embassy are working with the Iraqis in detailing how other portions of the SOFA agreement will play out.

Iraqi security forces have made tremendous gains over the past 18 months, officials in Baghdad said. The U.S. surge of five brigades into Iraq announced in January 2006 brought security and stability to the country. Behind this, the Iraqi army and police were able to develop and train. The agreement recognizes this progress and now Iraqi forces have primary responsibility for security in the country.

The agreement also calls for all American combat troops to be out of cities and villages by June. Planning is underway for this move already, U.S. officials in Baghdad said. The agreement says all U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.

The transfer of responsibility for security of the Green Zone is the most visible outcome of the agreement. The palace on the banks of the Tigris River was the seat of the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein. U.S. servicemembers called the building the "three-headed palace" because of three huge busts of Saddam that decorated it.

Soon after American soldiers rolled into Baghdad, the palace became the headquarters of the coalition forces in the country. It also served as the U.S. embassy in the country.

While spared any direct attack in the "shock and awe" campaign in March 2003, the building still had no glass in the windows and American soldiers bunked in some of the rooms decorated with pictures of missiles and other portrayals of Saddam's might.

The palace became the hub of the Coalition Provisional Authority – the coalition group that ruled Iraq before the first government. U.S. Ambassador Paul Bremer transferred sovereignty back to the Iraqis in a ceremony at the palace in June 2004.

The grounds behind the palace was filled with hundreds of trailers that coalition officials lived in as they worked with Iraqi governmental departments.

Explosions Kill and Injure Iraqis

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:38:45 -0700

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, DC – Coalition officials denounced the "barbaric" and "cowardly" acts of terrorists who killed more than a dozen Iraqis and injured scores of others with bombings in Iraq over the past several days. In southern Baghdad on Oct. 12, five Iraqis were killed and 12 were injured by an explosion. An explosive ordnance detachment is investigating the scene to gather more information.

Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers of Company D, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, joined Iraqi Security Forces in responding to the blast and helping secure the site.

"Soldiers from the Raider brigade are responding to assist the Iraqi people in this time of need," said Army Maj. Dave Olson, the combat team's spokesman. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those injured and killed in the attack. The transition of the Iraqi Security Forces continues to move forward as they assume the lead in the Rashid district.

"This is a heinous attack against the residents of Baghdad," Olson said . "It also shows the true nature of a cowardly and evil enemy who specifically targets the innocent."

In Mosul, also on Oct. 12, members of al Qaeda in Iraq conducted a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack against an Iraqi patrol, killing five local Iraqi citizens and injuring 10 others. Approximately 20 minutes later, another SVBIED attack injured 25 Iraqi citizens in an area not far from the first blast. The injured have been taken to a local facility for medical treatment.

"The good, honest citizens of Iraq only want peace and stability in their lives. The barbaric acts of these AQI members will continue to make the decent citizens of Iraq turn against them," said Army Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, spokeswoman for Multi-National Division-North.

In the East Rashid district of Baghdad on Oct 10, six Iraqi civilians were killed and 12 were wounded when terrorists detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.

Multi-National Division Baghdad soldiers assigned to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team responded to the scene. A preliminary investigation from a coalition explosive ordnance team indicates that 200-300 pounds of explosives exploded in the vehicle.

"Cowardly attacks such as this show a complete disregard for the lives of Iraqi citizens," said Army Maj. Mark Cheadle, spokesman for Multinational Division Baghdad and the 4th Infantry Division. "Along with our Iraqi Security Force partners, we will continue to pursue those who threaten the safety of the people of Iraq."

Source: US Department of Defense - Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq press releases.

Coalition, Afghan Vehicles Collide in Kabul Highway Accident

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:09:25 -0800

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, DC – A coalition-forces vehicle and a van carrying Afghan civilians were involved in a traffic accident on Highway 1 in the capital city of Kabul today, military officials said. Both vehicles were traveling east when the van attempted to move into the left lane of traffic where it struck the side of the coalition vehicle, according to a U.S. military news release.

The coalition vehicle's driver was unable to swerve to avoid the van, the release said, because of a median separating the east-bound and west-bound lanes of traffic. The Afghan van skidded off the highway and struck a roadside shop. The release didn't say whether or not coalition forces or Afghan civilians had been injured or killed as a result of the accident.

The accident was reported to the Afghan National Police. The incident is under investigation.

"We regret this incident and express our condolences to the families and people involved," said Army Col. Jerry O'Hara, U.S. Forces Afghanistan spokesman.

In news yesterday, Afghan and coalition forces killed seven militants and uncovered three caches containing drugs and improvised explosive device-making materials during a clearing operation in Nahr Surkh district, Helmand province.

In Nov. 26 operations:

Coalition forces killed 15 militants and detained six suspected militants during an early-morning raid in Anizai, part of Zhari district in Kandahar province.

Afghan and coalition forces detained seven suspected militants during a combined operation aimed at disrupting the Haqqani terrorist network in Khost province.

(Compiled from U.S. Forces Afghanistan news releases.)

Soldiers Capture Four Suspected Criminals in Baghdad Raids

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:12:36 -0800

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. soldiers detained four suspected criminals yesterday during Thanksgiving Day operations in southern Baghdad's Rashid district, military officials said. Some of the detainees allegedly conducted attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces while others are suspected of weapons-trafficking activities.

"Our soldiers continue to support our Iraqi security forces partners as we assist them in providing a safe and secure environment for the Iraqi people," said Army Maj. Dave Olson, spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team.

In November 26 Iraq Operations:

Eighteen women in northern Iraq who were associated with al-Qaida in Iraq suicide bombing cells turned themselves into coalition forces. The women were persuaded by local religious leaders and their fathers to cease their training in suicide operations and reconcile.

Senior U.S. and Iraqi officers met in Diyala to coordinate the transfer of authority for Sons of Iraq operations from coalition to Iraqi jurisdiction. The Sons of Iraq program is currently managed by coalition forces, but the Iraqi government will soon assume responsibility for this program.

Iraqi National Police seized weapons while U.S. soldiers detained two suspected bomb cell members in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad.

Tips provided by concerned citizens led Iraqi soldiers, police and U.S. soldiers to seize several weapons caches throughout Baghdad.

Several improvised-explosive devices detonated in eastern Baghdad, wounding five civilians, five National policemen and three local Iraqi police officers.

A mass grave site containing 23 remains was found in Diyala province. The bodies appear to have been deceased for about a year-and-a-half. Iraqi police will present the remains to respective families for proper burial.

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

Reconstruction Teams Work ‘One Block at a Time' in Iraq

kpaul.mallasch — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:57:01 -0800

By Army Sgt. Zach Mott
American Forces Press Service

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WAR EAGLE, IRAQ – Reconstruction in Iraq means more than fixing broken walls and stocking store shelves. It means securing a future where Iraqis can sustain themselves, a provincial reconstruction team leader said.

"The mission is to help bring a sustainable, democratic government, promote moderate [leaders] and encourage economic development in Baghdad," said Ted Andrews, team leader for Provincial Reconstruction Team 3 in Baghdad, which is embedded with the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Multinational Division Baghdad.

The 17-member team comprises representatives from the U.S. State Department and other contracted civilian employees. The team aims to help fill the country's reconstruction needs while focusing on governance, economic development, the rule of law and women's issues, Andrews said. It also meets regularly with elected officials and other government leaders in northern Baghdad to provide mentorship.

"We try to encourage [our] people to give them skills that they can promote and use when we're not there," Andrews said.

For this team, which operates in Baghdad's two most diverse districts -- the progressive Adhamiyah district and the volatile Sadr City district -- the challenges are vast and varied. Andrews cautions his team members to remain guarded in their hopes for success.

"It's hard for us to admit that we can't care about something more than they do," he said. "We do our best and at a certain point we've got to pull back and they've got to take it and make something of it."

Army Col. John Hort, right, briefs members of a congressional delegation visiting Iraq in October. Hort commands the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Multinational Division Baghdad. The brigade works closely with the Provincial Reconstruction Team 3 in Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Zach Mott
high-resolution image .

And the Iraqis are making something of it. One success story that Andrews likes to tout is the Modern Sewing Company in Adhamiyah. With the help of startup funds provided by the United States and an Iraqi non-governmental organization, the company is making uniforms for school children in Sadr City and the some surrounding communities in Adhamiyah.

"We organized a way… to get the [clothes] out of the factory and into a warehouse and now, finally, more of them are moving up toward the kids," Andrews said.

Other successes are harder to quantify. As Andrews describes, progress isn't going to come in one sweeping event that defines an end to an American presence in Iraq.

"This is one of those places where you have to put your foot on the brakes and step on the gas at the same time," he said. "You've got to be pushing all these buttons in the society to get it going. We're only going to win one block at a time in this place. Victory is going to be a process, not a single event."

Sadr City presents unique challenges. The southern third of the district is separated from the northern portion by a concrete wall. The communities on each side of the wall must be dealt with in different ways, Andrews said.

"The frustration, still, is the slow progress within the government north of the wall in terms of some of the reconstruction and essential services," Army Col. John Hort, commander of the 3rd BCT, said. "Our job right now is … to continue to work with [Andrews] and the other side of the river with the central government to … get those types of initiatives moving a little bit quicker so the people can see not just a security element that they're very pleased with, but also the governance and the essential services."

The partnership between the provincial reconstruction team and brigade has allowed a sustainable level of progress to take hold with the Iraqi people feeling hopeful – something that has been absent for many years, Andrews said.

"Can Iraqi housewives go to the market and buy vegetables and chicken with a much-reduced fear that they're going to get blown up? That's the sort of progress we're doing," Andrews said.

(Army Sgt. Zach Mott works in the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office).

Coalition Forces Kill 19 Militants, Detain 11 in Afghanistan

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:59:34 -0800

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, DC (Nov. 23, 2008) - Coalition and Afghan forces killed 19 armed militants, detained 11 suspects and destroyed weapons in Afghanistan in recent days, military officials reported. Combined forces killed 17 insurgents during an air assault operation in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province yesterday.

The combined force aimed the assault at a known insurgent safe haven to interdict enemy supplies and fighters. Insurgents in multiple locations fired on forces with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. Troops returned fire, killing 17 militants. Forces also discovered and destroyed several small weapons caches on site. The stockpiles contained ammunition and bomb-making materials.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan yesterday, coalition forces detained eight suspected militants, including a wanted individual, during an operation aimed at the Haqqani terrorist organization leadership in Paktika province.

Forces targeted a compound in the Orgun district, where military officials believed a Haqqani commander was planning and conducting attacks against local civilians, the Afghan government and coalition forces.

These apprehensions come at a time when recent intelligence indicated that militants in the area were planning attacks against civilians who work with the government and coalition troops in Paktika, Khowst and Paktika provinces, military officials said.

In Ghazni a day earlier, coalition forces detained three suspected militants, including a local Taliban commander, military officials said.

Troops caught the military leader at a compound in the Waghez district in the Nov. 21 operation. The suspect is known to be in direct contact with senior Taliban leaders in the region who facilitate the movement of foreign fighters and coordinate terrorist activities, military officials said.

In Afghanistan on Nov. 20, coalition forces killed two armed militants, and mistakenly killed a civilian during a raid in Zabul province. Troops injured four other civilians during a clearing operation. Forces provided medical care and compensation to the families of the civilian casualties.

(Compiled from U.S. Forces Afghanistan news releases.)