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FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq — Eight operations carried out in the Iraqi province of Diyala in the last week by U.S. and Iraqi forces resulted in the deaths of 33 members of al-Qaida, with at least 14 others being detained, military officials said on Saturday. The missions, divided between two battalion-level operations and six company-level assignments, also uncovered eight weapons-storage sites, safely detonated five roadside bombs and destroyed two homes rigged with explosives. The operations come in the wake of June and July’s Operation Arrowhead Ripper, which drove hundreds to thousands of insurgents from the provincial capital, Baqouba, and...

Khalis, Iraq - As the US military continues to move through Diyala Province to uproot Al Qaeda fighters hidden amid its villages, an emerging foe may be helping to erode many of the successes the Americans are having in the three-week-old operation "Arrowhead Ripper." According to Iraqi soldiers and US officers, militants linked to Al Qaeda are using tribal and family connections and, in some cases, also providing financial incentives to members of the Iraqi Army to help them remain strong and evade capture.

BAQOUBA, Iraq – Iraqi army and Coalition Force Soldiers from Task Force Lightning continued offensive operations in and around the capital of Diyala province, Iraq, as Operation Arrowhead Ripper continued to deny resources to al-Qaida terrorists during its twentieth day in the area. Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, and 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, discovered and disabled five vehicles being prepared as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and caches containing pipe bombs, sniper rifles and other explosives and IED-making materials. During another joint operation in western Baqouba, Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, and 2-5th...

BAQUBAH, Iraq, July 9, 2007 – Iraqi army and coalition soldiers from Task Force Lightning continued offensive operations in and around the capital of Iraq’s Diyala province today, as Operation Arrowhead Ripper continues to deny resources to al Qaeda terrorists during its 20th day in the area. Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, and 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, discovered and disabled five vehicles being prepared as car bombs and caches containing pipe bombs, sniper rifles, and other explosives and bomb-making materials. During another joint operation in western Baqubah, soldiers from 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment,...

‘Arrowhead Ripper’ continues to deny terrorists resources Monday, 09 July 2007 Multi-National Corps – Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory APO AE 09342 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RELEASE No. 20070709-07 July 9, 2007 ‘Arrowhead Ripper’ continues to deny terrorists resources Multi-National Division – North PAO BAQOUBA, Iraq – Iraqi army and Coalition Force Soldiers from Task Force Lightning continued offensive operations in and around the capital of Diyala province, Iraq, as Operation Arrowhead Ripper continued to deny resources to al-Qaida terrorists during its twentieth day in the area. Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, and 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th...

BAGHDAD - Insurgents launched a deadly coordinated attack on an American combat patrol, the U.S. military said Friday, killing five troops and making this the deadliest quarter for U.S. soldiers in Iraq since the war began. Assailants detonated a roadside bomb, then fired guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the soldiers. Seven troops were wounded in the attack on Thursday in southern Baghdad and were evacuated to a military hospital; one has since returned to duty, the military said. The deaths brought to 99 the number of U.S. troops to die in Iraq this month, according to an Associated Press count....

Operation Arrowhead Ripper, as the latest American offensive is called, has successfully swept into al Qaeda-infested Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad, killing and capturing hundreds of terrorists. The battles in Iraq and Afghanistan time and time again have resulted in significant, but often untold military successes. Realities on the ground often go unnoticed or under-appreciated. The American soldier has often lacked a voice to articulate his mission and his successes amidst the cacophony of defeat in Congress and public opinion polls. I invited warriors to weigh in with their perspectives, interviewing hundreds of soldiers, sailors, airmen...

June 29, 2007, 5:00 a.m. Soldier's Voices Listen to what the armed forces have to say about Iraq. By Buzz Patterson Operation Arrowhead Ripper, as the latest American offensive is called, has successfully swept into al Qaeda-infested Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad, killing and capturing hundreds of terrorists. The battles in Iraq and Afghanistan time and time again have resulted in significant, but often untold military successes. Realities on the ground often go unnoticed or under-appreciated. The American soldier has often lacked a voice to articulate his mission and his successes amidst the cacophony of defeat...

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2007 – Iraqi and U.S. troops continue to clear out insurgents in Baqubah and distribute aid to its citizens as part of ongoing Operation Arrowhead Ripper, and recent terrorist bombings in Baghdad have killed 15 Iraqis and wounded 23 others, U.S. officials reported. Iraqi security forces and U.S. soldiers operating in Baqubah yesterday continued to clear the city of insurgents while providing humanitarian aid to its citizens as Operation Arrowhead Ripper entered its ninth day. Arrowhead Ripper is one of several operations that are part of an overall offensive against insurgents in Iraq dubbed Operation Phantom Thunder,...

On 19 June American forces sealed off Baqubah and began attacking targets within the city. The immediate goal of Arrowhead Ripper was to free Baqubah of al Qaeda, by trapping and killing its members, but according to American officers here, public remarks by senior military officials may have flushed many AQI leaders before the attack. Despite this frustrating and significant setback, progress toward the end-state goal of Arrowhead Ripper—turning over Baqubah to Iraqi government control—appears to be working, at least in terms of the removal of the current AQI leadership and its quasi-government.

BAQUBAH, Iraq, June 25, 2007 – Iraqi security forces and Task Force Lightning soldiers discovered an execution house and an illegal prison in the Baqubah neighborhood of Khatoon yesterday during the sixth day of Operation Arrowhead Ripper. The two buildings were in the same area as a torture chamber and illegal courthouse linked to al Qaeda, which were found on the fourth and fifth day of the operation, officials said. Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, discovered the execution house using information from local citizens, who said it had been used by al Qaeda. Soldiers searching the house found...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2007 – Combined security forces began providing humanitarian assistance yesterday in Baqubah, Iraq, in addition to combat aimed at rooting out al Qaeda, during the fifth day of the Operation Arrowhead Ripper. Iraqi security forces and the 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team delivered three truckloads of rice, flour and school supplies to Baqouba residents. In total, Iraqi soldiers distributed 20,000 pounds of rice and flour, along with 300 cases of water, to an estimated 1,500 Baqouba residents. The provisions were dropped off within 96 hours of beginning combat operations. “The mission was a success...

Troops begin patrolling the streets of the city that had been overrun by Al Qaeda-linked insurgents. They find not everyone there is bad. BAQUBAH -- Lt. Qusai had his doubts when he took his men into an insurgent haven in the western part of this city for the first time this week. "Honestly, I thought this operation would never be successful because I had information that Al Qaeda had big guns and RPGs," said the Iraqi army commander who provided only one name. "We thought that all the people here are terrorists and everyone is bad, even the women and...

<p>Your thought, picture, analysis, and corrections are appreciated by all FReepers.</p> <p>Will these pictures be on the MSM tonight, positively showing the Surge?</p>

Iraq War: You've no doubt heard of Paris Hilton, and of Rosie O'Donnell as well. We're pretty sure you know what Barry Bonds is up to. But have you ever heard of Arrowhead Ripper? The likely answer is no. But if that's the case, it's not your fault. Arrowhead Ripper isn't an athlete, a TV star or a person famous for being famous. It's the code name for a massive U.S.-led assault under way in Iraq's Diyala province — an undertaking that has garnered token media coverage since it began Tuesday. After getting some initial front-page treatment in major U.S....

Thousands of US soldiers on the offensive north of Baghdad are up against fierce resistance from hundreds of Al Qaida militants ready to fight to the death. The US has launched one of its biggest operations since the invasion of Iraq targeting Baquba. US military releases video of its operations against Al Qaida militants in and around the Iraqi city of Baquba.

Story Highlights• NEW: U.S. general cites three reasons for optimism in Iraq • Iran providing "surge" of help to insurgents, general says • U.S. attack helicopters kill 17 al Qaeda members on Friday, military says • 51 other militants killed in Diyala province this week brings total to 68, U.S. says BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. and Iraqi troops killed at least 68 al Qaeda militants in Iraq's Diyala province in the past four days, the U.S. military reported on Friday.U.S. attack helicopters armed with missiles killed 17 "al Qaeda gunmen" Friday in and around a village southwest of...

Battle for Baqubah First a quick media round-up. (This is not all-inclusive.) Alexandra Zavis from Los Angeles Times is down in the heat of the battle bringing home information. Michael Gordon from New York Times is still slugging it out, and his portions are accurate in the co-authored story, “Heavy Fighting as US Troops Squeeze Insurgents in Iraqi City.” (Long title.)

BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of U.S. soldiers on the offensive north of Baghdad are facing fierce resistance from hundreds of al Qaeda militants who are ready to fight to the death, an American general said on Friday. "It is house to house, block to block, street to street, sewer to sewer," said Brigadier-General Mick Bednarek, deputy commanding general, operations, 25th Infantry Division. Al Qaeda militants were making their stand in and around the Iraqi city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, where the U.S. military on Tuesday launched one of its biggest operations since the invasion...

BAQOUBA, Iraq — The Iraqi teenager hesitated for a moment when he encountered the squad of soldiers standing at the top of a dusty, rutted dirt street that he had started to walk down. He gestured at a house, as if to say, “I’m only going over there.” “If you want to go, dude, that’s your choice,” said Staff Sgt. Brian Piehler, 25, of Spanaway, Wash., a squad leader of Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, motioning him forward. “But you may not like what’s coming in a few minutes.” On Monday, the first day of a massive U.S.-Iraqi...