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WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2009 – Iraqi forces, aided by U.S. advisors, arrested several terrorism suspects over the past three days, military officials reported. Iraqi security forces arrested seven people today near Baghdad and Mosul during operations conducted to find and arrest members of the al-Qaida in Iraq network. Near Mahawil, south of Baghdad, Iraqi police captured a wanted al-Qaida in Iraq member suspected of facilitating terrorist activities, including homemade-bomb attacks, in the region. Combined security team intelligence led Iraqi police and U.S. advisors to search homes where the al-Qaida in Iraq suspect may have been located. Based on preliminary questioning...

Note: The following text is a quote: Forces Arrest Terrorism Suspects in Iraq American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2009 – Iraqi forces, aided by U.S. forces advisors, detained several terrorism suspects in Iraq in recent days, including one believed responsible for the Oct. 11 bombing in Ramadi, military officials reported. Special weapons and tactics personnel and U.S. forces advisors, under the direction of the Iraqi military and the Anbar Operations Center, detained a suspect Oct. 25 in Hit, northwest of Ramadi. The man is suspected in the planning and coordination of the Oct. 11 attacks on the Ramadi...

KIRKUK — Iraqi Police here on Tuesday detained nine suspected al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) members in possession of bomb making materials. One of the nine is believed to be Abdallah Abd Qadir, who is known to have purchased thousands of pounds of ammonium nitrate in 2006. Qadir has ties to known AQI members associated with insurgent activity in Baghdad. Iraqi Police in the Domies neighborhood of Kirkuk city stopped two suspicious vehicles at a routine traffic check point Monday, which led to the discovery of more than 300 pounds of ammonium nitrate and a can of gasoline in the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2009 – Iraqi forces, with U.S. advisors, in recent days have arrested an alleged terrorist financier and recruiter, as well as five suspects in a roadside bomb network, military officials reported. In Balad, the Iraqi army’s emergency response brigade arrested alleged Khitab Hezbollah financier and recruiter Khalid Masur Ismail in Baghdad’s Sadr City district. Ismail, who also is known as Abu Mustafa, was arrested on a court-issued warrant when he identified himself upon contact and admitted to working as a manager for a security firm alleged to be a front for Khitab Hezbollah. During the operation, Iraqi...

TG-132 SNIPPET: "WASHINGTON-- The U.S. Department of the Treasury today targeted the support network of al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI) by designating Syria-based Sa'ad Uwayyid 'Ubayd Mu'jil al Shammari (aka Abu Khalaf) under Executive Order 13224. E.O. 13224 targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. AQI is a Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. "We will continue to aggressively implement the international obligation to target al-Qa'ida-linked terrorists, like Abu Khalaf, who threaten the safety of Coalition Forces and the stability of Iraq," said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Abu Khalaf...

SNIPPET: "Curious, The Mouth asked Multi-National Forces-Iraq in Baghdad a series of questions last November about Iranian subversive activity. Read the questions and answers after the jump. - James Gordon Meek Q: Are Iranian-made Explosively-Formed Penetrator bombs still coming into the country? A: We continue to find caches that include Iranian weapons - many in their original packaging - including Explosively-Formed Penetrators and 107mm, 122mm, and 240mm rockets. Q: How many EFP incidents occur on average per month now? A: Approximately 3-7 per month. Q: Have the EFP attacks decreased at all? A: Yes, we are seeing a reduction in...

November 26, 2008 BERLIN (AP) — Two German citizens suspected of distributing propaganda over the Internet supporting al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations were arrested Tuesday, German prosecutors said. The men — identified only as Daniel P., 26 and Harun Can A., 23 — were among eight suspects whose homes were raided on Tuesday, federal prosecutors said in a statement. A 19-year-old German citizen identified as Irfan P. was already in custody on separate charges before the morning raids in cities including Augsburg, Duesseldorf and Bremen, where investigators combed through the suspects' computer equipment.

November 20, 2008 HP-1284 Treasury Designates al-Qaida in Iraq Facilitator Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Redouane El Habhab, a Germany-based terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided financial support and other services to al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI). "We must remain vigilant in our efforts to shut every funding stream terrorists and their supporters exploit to carry out attacks in Iraq and around the world," said Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. "The power and reach of the UN's counterterrorism authorities continue to be critically important tools to shut down financing conduits wherever...

FBI Warns of Potential Terror Attacks The FBI and Department of Homeland Security today issued an analytical "note" to U.S. law-enforcement officials cautioning that al-Qaida terrorists have in the past expressed interest in attacking public buildings using a dozen suicide bombers each carrying 20 kilograms of explosives. Authors with the U.S. Office of Intelligence and Analysis added that they have "no credible or specific information that terrorists are planning operations against public buildings in the United States." The FBI and DHS analysts said they were releasing the note because "it is important for local authorities and building owners and...

BALAD — In 2006 the city of Balad was a melting pot for sectarian violence. Today, it’s an example of security and economic progress. This progress is a direct reflection of 12 months of successful Coalition and Iraqi operations which have placed a clamp on major insurgent activities in and around the predominately Shia city. With the organization of ‘Sons of Iraq’ (Sawha) groups, and the ever increasing capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, criminal activity in the once restive city has decreased dramatically. Even with the overall successes in the Balad Qada, the enemy is still actively pursued. Operations...

BAGHDAD — At first, I didn’t recognize the place. On Karada Mariam, a street that runs over the Tigris River toward the Green Zone, the Serwan and the Zamboor, two kebab places blown up by suicide bombers in 2006, were crammed with customers. Farther up the street was Pizza Napoli, the Italian place shut down in 2006; it, too, was open for business. And I’d forgotten altogether about Abu Nashwan’s Wine Shop, boarded up when the black-suited militiamen of the Mahdi Army had threatened to kill its owners. There it was, flung open to the world. Two years ago, when...

Al Qaeda in Iraq's sanctuaries have virtually disappeared from December 2006 to August 2008. Light red areas are where al Qaeda can operate, dark red areas are controlled by al Qaeda. Al Qaeda's senior leadership has lost confidence in its commander in Iraq and views the situation in the country as dire, according to a series of letters intercepted by Multinational Forces Iraq earlier this year. The letters, which have been sent exclusively to The Long War Journal by Multinational Forces Iraq, are a series of communications between Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in command, Abu Ayyub al...

Coalition and Iraq forces captured three senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders behind some of the deadliest violence over the past several years. Two of the men were detained during the past two weeks in raids by Task Force 88, the hunter-killer special operations teams assigned to dismantle al Qaeda's networks in Iraq. The special operations teams captured Salim 'Abdallah Ashur al Shujayri during an operation on Aug. 11. Six days later, Ali Rash Nasir Jiyad al Shammari was captured. The locations of the raids were not disclosed by Multinational Forces-Iraq. Today, Iraqi forces announced the capture of Mahdi Mosleh...

Map of Diyala province [PDF]. Click to view. More than 375 insurgents and al Qaeda operatives have been captured during the first week of Operation Omens of Prosperity in Diyala province. Six senior al Qaeda in Iraqi leaders in the province have been captured during the province-wide operation. The Iraqi military announced it captured 265 suspected al Qaeda fighters during operations from July 29 through Aug. 2. Five members of al Qaeda's provincial shura, or executive council, were captured during this timeframe. Iraqi troops captured Qussai Ali Khalaf, the leader of al Qaeda's Islamic State in Iraq in Diyala...

WASHINGTON — Al-Qaida terrorists have been largely marginalized in Iraq’s Babil province, thanks to the joint efforts of Iraqi and U.S. security forces, as well as local “Sons of Iraq” citizen security groups, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said July 24. “The organization related to al-Qaida is severely disrupted, … as well as the [extremist] militia” in Babil province,” Army Col. Tom James, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, said during a satellite-carried news conference with Pentagon reporters. “Overall, we are extremely optimistic about the security situation in Babil province, because of the...

MOSUL, IRAQ: The Battle for Mosul over the past several years has worked as a microcosm for the larger Iraqi conflict, with Coalition and Iraqi forces successfully imposing its will only after Al Qaeda and other insurgent groups held large parts of the city and region for long periods. Control over the city of 1.9 million people and the surrounding Ninewa province have been lost to Coalition and government forces twice since 2003. Only a successful security operation in May has brought attacks to their lowest recorded levels since the conflict began. Operation “Lion’s Roar” in May involved 5,000 Coalition...

Map of Iraq. Click to view. Iraqi security forces are massing more than 30,000 soldiers and police for an upcoming operation against al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army in the eastern province of Diyala, according to police and military officials. The operation, which was expected to be launched this week, has been scheduled to kick off on August 1, an anonymous senior Iraqi military officer told AFP. "The operation is aimed at cleansing the region of insurgents, al Qaeda and militias who are still there," the officer said. Like other offensives against al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army, the...

An Iraqi policeman stands guard outside a voter registration center in Mosul as US and Iraqi troops enter. When Iraqi Army Brigadier General Noor Aldeen visited his old secondary school in northern Mosul this week, he had little time to reminisce about placing first in spelling and arithmetic. His former school in the neighborhood of Al Nomaniya is an election registration site for upcoming regional elections in October, making it a popular place for a terrorist attack in the coming weeks. Almost all of the 57 registration sites in Iraq’s third-largest city are at primary and secondary schools --...

14 July 2008The war continues to abate in Iraq. Violence is still present, but, of course, Iraq was a relatively violent place long before Coalition forces moved in. I would go so far as to say that barring any major and unexpected developments (like an Israeli air strike on Iran and the retaliations that would follow), a fair-minded person could say with reasonable certainty that the war has ended. A new and better nation is growing legs. What's left is messy politics that likely will be punctuated by low-level violence and the occasional spectacular attack. Yet, the will of the...

BAGHDAD — Iraq experienced the lowest number of acts of violence in more than four years last week, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq said July 9. Security progress in Iraq is unmistakable, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said. Civilian deaths around the country were at their lowest point in three years, the general told reporters, adding that the reduction in violence is allowing the Iraqi government and the coalition to put in place projects that improve the quality of life in the country and create jobs for Iraqis. The general said the security improvements are due in large part...

Images from the attack on Combat Outpost Inman. On the morning of March 23, 2008, an Easter Sunday, a massive blast rocked the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Eight kilometers away at Forward Operating Base Marez, the US Military Transition Team for the 6th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, prepared for the worst. The blast was so large many thought incoming rounds landed close by inside the base. But a large plume rising in the distance in the northwest made it clear a very large suicide vehicle attack just occurred inside Mosul. The US adviser team, led by Lieutenant...

Click to view images froma patrol in Northeast Baghdad. Photos by Bill Murray. BAGHDAD, IRAQ: It’s near noon on a Friday in Northeast Baghdad and the neighborhoods the U.S. military calls Muhallahs 535 and 734 are quiet. It’s the weekend, and many adults are at the local mosques for worship, leaving the streets filled with dozens of adolescent boys, yelling, kicking and raising minor havoc on bicycles, soccer balls and the unlucky stray dog. As U.S. Army Specialist Luis Garza and 2nd Lieutenant Jonathon Logan patrol the neighborhoods, they remember these streets during a less docile time. Both men...

Video clip from Al Furqan's latest tape, "The Islamic State is Meant to Stay". The video shows the attack on Combat Outpost Inman and images from The Long War Journal of the aftermath of the attack. Al Qaeda in Iraq, through its puppet organization the Islamic State of Iraq, released its latest propaganda video on June 23. The video contains a montage of attacks throughout Iraq, and features two Kuwaiti al Qaeda operatives who conducted strikes in Mosul. One of the operatives was released from the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Islamic State of Iraq used footage...

US Special Operations Forces scored a major victory in Mosul today. US forces killed al Qaeda's emir, or leader, of the northern city during a raid on a safe house. The emir, who has not been named, was killed after a Special Operations Forces team form Task Force 88, the hunter-killer teams assigned to take down terrorists in Iraq, stormed a building in Mosul. The commandos opened fire after one of the terrorists attempted to detonate his suicide vest was shot and another reached for a pistol. A woman with the group attempted to detonate the vest on the dead...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ: Iraqi and Coalition forces in and around Baghdad captured more than 100 insurgents and defused 147 improved explosive devices during the past week as part of continued security operations, according to Iraqi and Coalition spokesmen. One insurgent was killed, six kidnap victims liberated and about 700 kilograms of TNT discovered during security sweeps in the past seven days, said Iraqi Army spokesman Major General Qassim Atta during a press conference in Baghdad today. The current security plan, called Fardh al-Qanoon, or `Enforcing the Law,’ has been in place since early 2007, when U.S. planners began implementing a U.S....

BAGHDAD – Coalition forces captured six wanted men and eight additional suspected terrorists while targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq’s networks around the country Saturday and Sunday. In Mosul Saturday, Coalition forces detained a man believed to be al-Qaeda in Iraq’s head of car-bombing operations on the west side and another man who is an alleged cell leader in the same area. Four additional suspects were detained. Coalition forces detained two men during another operation Saturday while targeting a Mosul-based suspect who recently fled to Baghdad. Sunday, a precision operation in Mosul netted the alleged leader of AQI in the eastern half...

Iraqi troops replace border guards. Local police forces are raised. Maliki gives deadline for Mahdi Army to disarm. Sadrists fear being targeted. The Iraqi government and military continue to shape the battlefield for the confrontation with the Mahdi Army in Maysan province. Starting late last week, Iraqi security forces started the operation by sealing off the entrances and exits to the province, deploying additional forces from Baghdad and Basrah, warning the population, starting patrols in Amarah, and relieving the provincial chief of police. Since then, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has ordered all wanted Mahdi Army fighters to turn themselves...

This remarkable series of before and after pictures documents the rebuilding efforts of Task Force Marne, aka Multi-National Division Center, aka "the surge" Division in Iraq, 2007-2008. The Division's area of responsibility included some of the most violent areas on the southern edge of Baghdad (the "Baghdad belts") and in addition to peacemaking efforts in the region the Division's mission included halting the flow of "accelerants" into the city. Areas such as Salman Pak, Yousifiyah, Arab Jabour, Jisr Diyala, Mahmudiyah, and Iskandariyah may not be familiar to Americans (they were generally - and erroneously - referred to as "Baghdad" in...

HIT, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces conducted joint raids in the vicinity of Hit today detaining 49 suspects for possible connections with a deadly suicide vest-borne improvised explosive device attack near the city’s government complex Saturday evening. Elements of the 7th Iraqi Army Division, Hit Iraqi Police and Provincial Security Forces planned and executed the joint raids, which resulted in the roundup of suspects for questioning at an Iraqi Police Headquarters in Hit. The deadly SVEST attack in Hit Saturday resulted in four Iraqi Police killed, five civilians killed, four IP wounded and 15 civilians wounded. Among the dead are...

TIKRIT, Iraq – Battery C, Fires Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, along with Soldiers from the Iraqi Army took part in a clearing operation outside of Combat Out-Post Zaganiyah in the densely packed palm groves May 28. IA Soldiers, along with members of the Sons of Iraq from three different Iraqi towns took part in the palm grove clearing operation, said Capt. Charles Knoll, Battery C, Fires Squadron, 2nd SCR. “The city of Bukais used to be an al-Qaeda in Iraq stronghold in northern Iraq,” said 1st Sgt. Richard Perez, Battery C, Fires Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. “The AQI...

Iraqi security forces, back by US forces, are pressing the offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq and allied insurgent groups in Mosul and Ninewa province. The operation, which initially was called Lion’s Roar but has morphed into Operation Mother of Two Springs, has netted more than 1,100 al Qaeda and insurgent operatives. Today, the Iraqi Army reported it captured the “Prince of Ninewa” during a raid. The Iraqi is planning an amnesty and may be forming an Awakening in Mosul proper, a source toldThe Long War Journal. The “Prince of Ninewa” captured? The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior reported on...

US slashes reward for al-Qaida Iraq leader By MATTHEW LEE and PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer 24 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has slashed its reward for the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq from $5 million to $100,000 because it feels he's lost effectiveness and is no longer worth such a steep price, officials said Tuesday. Over the course of the last year, the government first reduced the bounty for Abu Ayyub al-Masri from $5 million to $1 million and then removed him entirely from the State Department's Rewards for Justice Program, which pays tipsters for information leading...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Approximately 120 men of the Chalabi tribe returned to their homes recently in the Sayafiyah region, about 25 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, more than a year after being driven out by al-Qaeda in Iraq extremists. Escorted by Sons of Iraq leader Jumah al-Kazarji and Soldiers of 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), a large convoy of cars and trucks ushered the Chalabi men back to their abandoned village. Their reclamation of homes signaled the hopeful beginning of a new era of peace and...

Coalition forces killed at least 20 suspected terrorists, captured scores of others, and seized weapons caches in Iraq over the past four days, military officials said. During operations today: -- Coalition forces conducted two operations east of Samarra targeting associates of a known al-Qaida in Iraq facilitator who is a liaison with senior terrorist leaders. Coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists and discovered weapons and a building wired to explode. After moving civilians away from the area, coalition forces called for an air strike to destroy the building and weapons. -- During operations in Mosul in northern Iraq, about 100...

Freedom Journal Iraq - News video Very professional news report by the Multi-National Force Iraq of frontline scenes of the mission of our awesome troops and the Iraqi police and Army forces, posted on April 17, 2008.

The latest three messages from al-Qaeda addressing the Sunni community uncover the depth of the crisis that al-Qaeda is facing in its former host community. The threatening tone of the missives from the alleged Abu Omar Baghdadi and Aby Ayyub, and the insulting tone of the second by Zawahiri, reflect mistrust, anxiety and a dire need to retrieve what was lost. Death threats do not represent a serious call for cooperation on an achievable objective. This “work-for-me-or-I-kill-you” tone is completely different from the usual recruiting slogans that have focused on the ideology of fighting for absolute truth against absolute evil....

Click the image to view the slideshow of the Sons of Iraq in Hawr Rajab at the "Village of Hope." During General David Petraeus' testimony to Congress on the progress of the war in Iraq, he referred to the great security gains of the last year, which largely hold even in the face of clashes between Shia militias and government forces in Sadr City, Basrah, and much of the South. General Petraeus credited a substantial portion of those security gains in many areas of Iraq in the last year to the duel phenomena of Sahawa (Awakening) councils and the...

In the latest episdode of Covert Radio, Brett talks to Aaron Klein from World Net Daily, about some of the outreach Syria is attempting in the Mid East. Brett also spoke to Rohan Gunaratna, from Signapore. He is the world's foremost authority on Al Qaeda, Dr. Gunaratna, author of Inside Al Qaeda contends that if the US leaves Iraq, it will be forced to return to fight Al Qaeda in 2-3 years. Finally gets the latest from NY Sun Correspondent Eli Lake, on the latest kookiness at the UN!

Stake through Their Hearts Killing al Qaeda March 2008Western Nineveh Province, Iraq The sun was setting over Nineveh as four terrorists driving tons of explosives closed on their targets. On August 14, 2007, the Yezidi villages of Qahtaniya and Jazeera were under attack, but only the terrorists knew it as they drove their trucks straight into the hearts of the communities. The shockwave from detonation far outpaced the speed of sound. Buildings and humans were ripped apart and hurled asunder. Superheated poisonous gases from the explosions gathered the smoke and dust and lofted heavenward, while the second detonation quickly...

An interesting recent claim about al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) says it is a totally homegrown and separate entity from the al Qaeda (AQ) that Osama bin Laden heads. Sen. Chuck Schumer, on Tuesday’s “Larry King Live” said, "The al Qaeda the president is talking about is different than the al Qaeda of Mesopotamia, which is the al Qaeda that's in Iraq. The al Qaeda that bin Laden is in charge of is a totally separate organization." And AP’s Jennifer Loven, in an article on the same day, claimed that AQI “"is mostly homegrown ... ". She further claims that,...

The Patton of Counterinsurgency With a sequence of brilliant offensives, Raymond Odierno adapted the Petraeus doctrine into a successful operational art. by Frederick W. Kagan and Kimberly Kagan 03/10/2008, Volume 013, Issue 25 Great commanders often come in pairs: Eisenhower and Patton, Grant and Sherman, Napoleon and Davout, Marlborough and Eugene, Caesar and Labienus. Generals David Petraeus and Raymond Odierno can now be added to the list. It's natural to assume that successful pairs of commanders complement each other's personalities (the diplomatic Eisenhower and the hard-charging Patton, for example) or that the junior partner is merely executing the vision...

Senior al Qaeda leaders have diverted operatives from Iraq across the globe and are increasing preparations to strike the United States, senior intelligence officials told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence yesterday. They said the terrorists had plans to attack the White House as recently as 2006. "Al Qaeda is improving the last key aspect of its ability to attack the U.S. — the identification, training and positioning of operatives for an attack in the homeland," said Michael McConnell, director of national intelligence, which oversees all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. "While increased security measures at home and abroad have caused...

Al Qaeda in Iraq's area of operations as of December 2007. Dark red indicates operating areas, light red is transit routes. Mosul remains a hot spot, with the only ratline to Syria in operation. Click to view. Just over one year after the surge officially began Coalition and Iraqi forces continue to pursue al Qaeda in Iraq. After al Qaeda has been driven from its havens in Baghdad and the surrounding belts regions, and most recently in Diyala, the city of Mosul has emerged as the latest battleground. Al Qaeda is still is able to operate in Mosul, and...

Coalition forces have launched a major air offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq in the southern Arab Jabour region, Brigadier General Jim Huggins, the deputy commander for Multinational Division Center, told The Long War Journal in an exclusive interview Sunday. US bombers targeted "more than 30" al Qaeda in Iraq positions in the region southeast of the capital of Baghdad. US Air Force B-1 bombers and Marine and Navy F-18 fighter-bombers dropped 35 bombs with a total weight of 19,000 pounds. The "specific targets" included al Qaeda in Iraq "save houses, deep buried IEDs [improvised explosive devices], and weapons caches,"...

BAQUBAH, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers killed one enemy combatant and detained 53 suspects during a joint operation with Iraqi Police, Concerned Local Citizens and Coalition Forces in the villages of Buhritz Al-Abarra and Imam Ways, just south of Baqubah Jan. 14-16. The operation, dubbed Viking Harvest II by CF, which is part of Operation Phantom Phoenix - a country-wide effort to eliminate al-Qaeda and other extremists in Iraq - also resulted in the clearing of more than 30 improvised explosive devices, the reduction of five booby-trapped houses and the discovery of two weapon caches. Three CLCs were killed and...

Al Qaeda in Iraq's area of operations as of December 2007. Dark red indicates operating areas, light red is transit routes. Click to view. Nearly one year to the day of the announcement of the "surge" of US forces to Iraq and the change in counterinsurgency plan, Iraqi and Coalition forces have shrunk al Qaeda's ability to conduct operations inside Iraq, a senior US commander said. During a press briefing in Baghdad, Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, the Commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, said al Qaeda in Iraq has been ejected from its strongholds in the cities to the rural...

Map of Iraq. Click to view. As Operation Phantom Phoenix and its subordinate operations progress in central and northern Iraq, Coalition forces confirmed killing a senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader in Diyala province. Coalition force killed Abu Layla al Suri, who is also known as Abu Abd al Rahman, during an intelligence-driven raid in the city of Miqdadiyah in Diyala province, where al Qaeda has established a safe haven. Al Suri, which translates to "the Syrian," was leader in Diyala, the province al Qaeda claimed as the capital of its Islamic State of Iraq during late 2006. Multinational...

BAGHDAD – Members of a Concerned Local Citizens group from the Karkh district in the Iraqi capital turned over a significant weapons cache they discovered to an Iraqi Army outpost there Jan. 12.The Karkh cache consisted of 21 mines, two anti-tank rockets, two 53 mm rockets with launchers, two 152 mm artillery rounds, fuses and three boxes of TNT.Helping remove unauthorized weapons and ordnance like this cache is an example of the effectiveness of Concerned Local Citizens to combat extremists and promote an end to violence by securing their neighborhoods.A Coalition explosive ordnance team destroyed the cache.This action is part...

General Mustaffa in his office in Arab Jabour. Photo by Bill Roggio. Click to view. Coalition and Iraqi security forces were active on Thursday and Friday in fighting as part of Operation Phantom Phoenix. Two senior al Qaeda in Iraq operatives were killed along with 32 foot soldiers during fighting in Arab Jabour, Miqdadiyah, and the Samarra region. Another 34 al Qaeda fighters were reported captured. Operation Marne Thunderbolt and Arab Jabour The most high-profile fighting occurred in the Arab Jabour region, which sits just southeast of Baghdad. US and Iraqi forces are conducting Operation Marne Thunderbolt, a subordinate...

At the same time that the Iraqi National Assembly passed its long-awaited de-Ba'athification reform, the security services have apparently cracked al-Qaeda's organization in the country. Muslim World News, a Muslim news agency in India, reports that the Iraqi Interior Ministry formed a unit recently dedicated to attacking AQI and will shortly take out the entire structure (via AJ Strata): The Interior Ministry announced Friday that al-Qaeda in Iraq has been successfully penetrated by means of a recently formed government security apparatus and is virtually an "open book," confirming that the sectarian sedition in the country was at the end of...