Free Republic

A prominent member of al Qaeda was killed in fighting with U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, the group said in a statement posted on an Islamist website on Sunday. Abu Suleiman al-Otaibi, formerly one of the group's leaders in Iraq, was killed in a "fierce battle with the worshipers of the cross" in Paktia, it said without giving the date of the battle. Another al Qaeda member, identified as Abu Dejana al-Qahtani, also died in the fighting, it added. Afghan officials said they had no information on the report. But the government earlier said in a statement that "five opposition" fighters...

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers continue to deny criminals freedom of movement in and around the Adhamiyah and Sadr City districts of Baghdad May 10-11. At approximately 7:30 a.m. May 10, MND-B soldiers with Company D, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, returned precision fire and killed a criminal who attacked them with small-arms fire in Adhamiyah. At approximately 10:50 a.m., soldiers from Company C, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Infantry Regiment, returned precision fire and killed a criminal who attacked them with small-arms fire in Adhamiyah. At approximately 4 p.m. May 10, soldiers from Company E, 1-68 CAB,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces conducted an operation targeting associates of an al-Qaeda in Iraq foreign terrorist facilitator in northern Iraq Saturday. Information from detainees led Coalition forces to a location south of Mosul where they were targeting associates of a suspected AQI facilitator. Surveillance teams observed a vehicle leave the target building and followed the suspected terrorists. After the suspects’ vehicle made several stops at other locations, dropping off and picking up additional men, Coalition forces attempted to stop the vehicle. Coalition forces fired three warning shots, but the driver refused to stop and one man made threatening movements...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers rescued a kidnapped Iraqi citizen May 8 near Ibrahim Bin Ali, northwest of Baghdad. Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment “Gimlets,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, acted on tips from Iraqi Army soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, in addition to tips provided by Iraqi Police and Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) members. The suspected kidnappers were detained and are being held for further questioning. “U.S. soldiers, in full partnership with Iraqi Security Forces, are aggressively pursuing criminals and terrorists,...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE ISKAN – Coalition forces are conducting joint patrols with the Iraqi army throughout the fish farm areas of North Babil, approximately 50 kilometers south of Baghdad. On one joint patrol, Soldiers of Company B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3th Infantry Division, evaluated the progress of fish farmers cleaning their farms preparing to receive economic aid from organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development. A year ago, the fish farms were not operational due to al-Qaida influence. However, with improved security, the fish farms are quickly becoming the major source of...

BAGHDAD — U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus said the courage of the Iraqi police and the Iraqi Security Forces while working together helped drive down the level of violence and level of civilians deaths in Iraq in the last 15 months at the Baghdad Police Summit last week. Speaking before a Baghdad Police Summit, Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq, told an audience of approximately 180 participants that “the decrease in violence has been very significant.” He noted the Iraqi Police had also made huge gains in manning, training and equipping their force, all of which will strengthen the police...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — The Village of Hope graduated its first class of students May 8 in a ceremony held at Patrol Base Stone in Hawr Rajab, south of Baghdad. The 42 graduating students spent the past three months learning plumbing, electrical and construction skills at the Village of Hope training facility. The program is aimed at teaching local citizens valuable career skills, with the added benefit of rebuilding their community. The students, many of them former Sons of Iraq, will continue their training outside the classroom by renovating structures in the area. Hawr Rajab was devastated last year...

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2008 – A U.S. Hellfire missile killed an insurgent near the site of a roadside-bomb attack in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district today, U.S. military officials said. A vehicle was destroyed while another insurgent fled the scene. “Our soldiers, along with the Iraqi security forces, continue to meet with the local populace to identify these criminal elements and eliminate the threat they pose,” said Army Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a Multinational Division Baghdad and 4th Infantry Division spokesman. “We will continue to use precision fire to defend the Iraqi people and ourselves against these criminal elements.” In yesterday’s operations:...

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2008 – Several militants were killed and eight were detained during two separate coalition operations to disrupt militant operations in Khowst and Helmand provinces yesterday. Afghan and coalition forces performed a search of several compounds in Sabari district, in Khowst province, targeting a militant cell conducting IED operations. The targeted individuals are known to have been involved in the Jan. 1 IED attack in Danda Fakiran, in Sabari district, which killed two civilians and the December 2007 kidnapping and murder of another civilian. During the course of the operation, several armed militants were killed when they attacked...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Two years ago, al-Qaeda destroyed the Chalabi village in the Sayafiyah region. A Shia tribe in a predominately Sunni area, the Chalabis fled to Mahmudiyah, Baghdad and other surrounding areas. About four months ago, Coalition forces entered the area and set up Sons of Iraq security and Iraqi Army checkpoints. Soon after, Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), discovered residents had returned to the area. “These families had heard from word of mouth that the area was now secure so now they are...

RAMADI, IRAQ (April 29, 2008) – It was a typical quiet morning on April 22, with the temperature intensifying as a bright orange sun emerged high from the horizon. Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, RCT-1, were standing post, just as they’ve done numerous times before. During a standard length watch in a small checkpoint protected by concrete barriers where they overlooked the small gravel road, lined with palm trees leading to their entry control point.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces detained 12 suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists during operations targeting the terrorist network in central and northern Iraq today. Coalition forces captured a wanted man and one additional suspected terrorist during an operation in Baghdad. The wanted man is believed to be an associate of an al-Qaeda in Iraq – or AQI – senior leader in the Northern Belt around the city. Targeting the AQI network in the Abu Ghraib area, 25 miles west of Baghdad, Coalition forces used information from an operation April 20 to detain three suspected terrorists. Iraqi and Coalition forces detained...

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces and soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad captured terrorists and seized multiple weapons and ordnance May 9 during clearing operations in the West Rashid district of southern Baghdad. At 2:15 p.m., Iraqi Army soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, seized an AK-47 rifle with 152 rounds, an RPK machine gun with 250 rounds and 60 mortar fuses. MND-B soldiers from Company B, 4th Bn., 64th Armor Regiment confiscated a rocket-propelled grenade, a PKC machine gun with 600 rounds, a hand grenade, a...

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad aerial weapons teams conducted operations against criminal elements in Baghdad May 10. Following an indirect-fire attack in central Baghdad, an MND-B AWT made positive identification of a rocket rail at the point of origin in the Sadr City district of Baghdad used to launch the attack. The AWT engaged a criminal element on site at approximately 6:40 a.m. with two Hellfire missiles. One criminal was killed, and the rocket rail and a shack were destroyed. Secondary explosions at the site also indicate that illegal weapons also were destroyed. At approximately 10 a.m., an AWT...

ANBAR PROVINCE — In the endless deserts of Iraq, the insurgency attempts to hide weapons for future use. Charlie Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, is there to find them. Scouts and Light Armored Vehicle crewmen with Charlie Company, nicknamed ‘Gunfighter,’ searched the deep, dark corners of western Anbar province in one of the key areas known for hidden weapons: the old Iraqi military bunkers at H2 airfield. “It’s a preventative measure to cut off the insurgency from many hiding areas for weapons,” said Lance Cpl. Jeremy A. Pratt, a scout with Charlie Company. “The reconnaissance...

A team of Soldiers from Company A, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division patrol the Euphrates River during a demonstration at Patrol Base Kemple, May 5, 2008. Photo by 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs. CAMP STRIKER — Most Soldiers who join the Army can honestly say they would have never imagined patrolling the Euphrates River in a boat. Some Soldiers will soon be able to say they’ve done just that.Company A, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), is training to...

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – BaghdadSoldiers killed eight criminals, who attacked Coalition force soldiers with rocketpropelled grenades and small-arms fire. ISF and MND-B Soldiers also seized four weapons caches during combat operations in Baghdad May 9 that continue to safeguard Iraqi citizens.At approximately 11:30 a.m., MND-B soldiers discovered an improvised explosive device and a 122 mm rocket off a tip from Iraqi National Police.At approximately 2 p.m., soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, killed three criminals who attacked their patrol with small-arms fire and RPGs.At approximately 2:20 p.m., soldiers from 1st Brigade...

BALAD, Iraq – Responding to attacks on Iraqi and Coalition forces, U.S. Special Operations Forces killed eleven Special Groups criminals in the Sadr City area of Baghdad May 9.U.S. SOF were providing security for Coalition forces who were making safety infrastructure improvements in Sadr City.During the operation, Special Groups criminals attacked Iraqi and Coalition forces with rocket propelled grenades and small-arms fire from the ground and from rooftops. U.S. SOF returned fire, killing nine. The firefight continued, and U.S. SOF authorized a Coalition aircraft to engage. The aircraft fired one Hellfire missile, killing two criminals.-30-

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2008 – U.S., NATO and Afghan forces’ efforts are preventing Taliban insurgents and transnational terrorists from regaining a foothold in Afghanistan, but more support is required from NATO and the international community, a senior U.S. military officer told members of a local think tank here yesterday. “NATO has not failed, and I assure you that we are succeeding and we will continue to succeed” in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock remarked during his speech at the Heritage Foundation. However, NATO and the international community “can and must do more” to support the mission in Afghanistan, said...

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2008 – More than a dozen insurgents were killed during a coalition forces operation to disrupt Taliban support operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province yesterday, military officials reported. Coalition forces searched compounds in the province’s Garmsir district, targeting a Taliban insurgent associated with procurement and smuggling of various types of small arms, munitions, fuses and explosives. During their search, coalition forces were fired upon, and they responded with small arms and air strikes, killing more than a dozen of their attackers, officials said. Troops found PK machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds, fuses, small-arms ammunition...

BAGHDAD, May 9, 2008 – The senior consultant for water resources in Iraq, the Multinational Corps Iraq geospatial team, and Iraqi surveying engineers from the Ministry of Water Resources discussed the future of a geospatial reference project Iraq is taking over at the U.S. Embassy in the International Zone on May 5. Army Staff Sgt. Anas Malkawi, a geodetic surveyor with 100th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Brigade, discusses the locations chosen for future geospatial reference system points across Iraq with Iraqi surveyors from the Ministry of Water Resources during a meeting at the U.S. Embassy, in Baghdad’s International Zone,...

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad killed six enemy fighters, fended off an attack, and captured and destroyed several weapons caches yesterday. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers killed six criminals, who attacked coalition forces with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms during multiple engagements in the Sadr City district of Baghdad yesterday. -- At about 1:30 p.m., soldiers from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, were attacked by criminals with RPGs and small arms. Soldiers returned fire and killed one criminal. -- At about 2 p.m., soldiers from 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat...

TIKRIT — A ribbon cutting ceremony officially opening two temporary bridges in Bayji was held May 8. These two bridges, which expand over the Tigris River, will promote more trade and stimulate the economy of the region by allowing the people of the provinces of Salah ad Din and Kirkuk to unite. Iraqi Security Forces helped to set the conditions in the area to make it possible to reconstruct the bridge, symbolizing the dedication of the ISF. With the skilled workmanship of the Iraqi Army Field Engineer Company who along with the Coalition Forces, built this monument to the people...

Students and guests pack the auditorium for a graduation ceremony at the Vocational-Technical School in the IIC May 4. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Approximately 200 students from the Vocational-Technical School in the Iskandariyah Industrial Complex (IIC) graduated May 4 with friends and family members in attendance. “I’d like to say congratulations to the vo-tech director and his staff but most of all to the students of this graduating class,� said Lt. Col. Jeff McKone, Multi-National Division – Center Iskandariyah Industrial Complex liaison, Team Iskan officer in charge. “It is an honor to be a part of the success in...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON — A Military Transition Team stationed at FOB Falcon, about eight kilometers south of Baghdad, plays a rigorous and important role in rebuilding the capacity of Iraq. The MiTT helps the Iraqi Army to operate in an optimal manner, said Sgt. Chad Highland, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Soldiers from the MiTT, assigned to 1-33rd Cav. Regt., teaches a five-day Iraqi basic training course using U.S. Army knowledge converted into something Iraqi Army Soldiers can execute. “It’s basically a course to teach basic...

BAGHDAD – Alert Iraqi Army soldiers and Iraqi Policemen prevented potential improvised explosive device attacks in the East Mansour district of Baghdad when they stopped a vehicle that was being used by criminal forces to transport IEDs in the area at approximately 1 p.m. May 7.Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 54th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, along with Jamia Iraqi Policemen, conducted a traffic stop after noticing a suspicious individual driving down a road.After stopping the vehicle, the alert soldiers and policemen discovered the deadly weapons in the vehicle. The forces fired at the man and wounded him.Inside the vehicle, the...

TIKRIT, Iraq – After receiving small arms fire, Sons of Iraq repelled an enemy attack, killing four insurgents and discovering a large cache in the Salah ad Din province, May 7. Several suicide vests were discovered along with 800 lbs of homemade explosives and other IED making materials. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal team dismantled the munitions on site for disposal. “Any effort in which forces can eliminate excessive amounts of explosives, places Iraq one step closer toward a state of overall security,” said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, spokesperson for Multi-National Division–North.

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces detained three insurgents wanted by the Government of Iraq in Baghdad May 7. An Iraqi Emergency Response Unit served warrants and detained the three suspects in the Adhamiyah area of Baghdad. The group is suspected of murdering and displacing Iraqi citizens. One of the suspects also provides support to terrorist elements conducting attacks against Iraqi Security Forces.

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces, Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) and Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers seized caches and recovered weapons across Baghdad May 7. At approximately 9:20 a.m., SOI members in Adhamiyah discovered a possible improvised explosive device that had been inadvertently picked up by a sanitation truck. The SOI found two 81 mm projectiles, a 120 mm Hera Mark I mortar, a projectile booster and detonation cord. At approximately 10:45 a.m., Iraqi National Police, along with soldiers from the Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, seized munitions found in an...

BAYJI, Iraq – The Sons of Iraq are quietly making large strides in the northern Iraqi city of Bayji, along with soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. Although more often than not, changes here go unrecognized, Bulldog Soldiers are quick to recognize the transformation of their battle space. “Without witnessing what goes on in our cities every day, it’s most likely that someone wouldn’t understand the importance of these seemingly small changes,” said Capt. Michael Sykes, battalion adjutant. Sykes said numerous roads have been opened, easing travel restrictions and making commuting...

5/8/2008 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Since taking flight for the first time here in October 2007, Reapers have flown more than 320 missions and 2,400 combat hours throughout Afghanistan, providing close-air support and precision engagement. The unit contributing to this effort is the 42nd Expeditionary Attack Squadron, a combined unit with Reapers from the U.S. and the British Royal Air Forces. "It's awesome working with the 'Brits,'" said Maj. John Myers, the 42nd EATKS commander. "We work well together. "We have split crews. We have a British pilot and an American sensor operator and another crew is...

BAGHDAD — Providing services needed to sustain a city and the inhabitants within is a daunting task the Government of Iraq is working to solve. In neighborhoods where conflict has reigned, many of the day-to-day activities that keep a city’s heart pumping have been clogged and, in some cases, stopped completely. The recently opened Civil Military Operations Center at Joint Security Station Sadr City is working with the local government to repair essential services to the residents of northeastern Baghdad while Iraqi Army and Coalition forces work to restore security there. “The CMOC was established to facilitate civil military operations...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Soldiers from Company C, 47th Forward Support Battalion, performed a simulated mass casualty drill at the troop medical clinic on FOB Hammer, May 6. A mass casualty (MASSCAL) event is any situation where there are more casualties than the aid station can normally handle. “When a mass casualty call comes in, all physicians, from dentists to surgeons, are called in,” said Capt. Aaron Mallory, of Panama City, Fla., Company C commander. “Those who cannot help on the treatment floor are sent to help with triage.” The 47th FSB used the training to rehearse procedures conducted...

Major Michael Blankenship, from Jonesborough, Tenn., 489th CA Bn., samples purified water from the windmill in al-Zatir, Iraq, May 5. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Justin Snyder. FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — U.S. troops visited windmills in al-Zatir and Hollandia, Iraq, on a quality analysis and control trip May 5. The Soldiers with 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, the 489th Civil Affairs Battalion, and 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, made the trip to check on progress made on windmills over the past eight months. Major Michael Blankenship, from Jonesborough, Tenn., 489th CA Bn., oversees the...

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2008 – The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit will redeploy from Afghanistan in November as scheduled, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today. The unit deployed from Camp Lejeune, N.C., in March. It is operating in Regional Command South under NATO’s International Security Assistance Force. “Just to reemphasize what the secretary said, … this deployment of Marines is seven months, and they’re going to come out toward the end of the year,” Mullen said. As the drawdown of surge forces in Iraq continues, Gates said, the...

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2008 – Coalition forces in Iraq today killed nine enemy fighters and detained 13 suspects during a series of operations across the country that targeted al-Qaida and its foreign-terrorist network, military officials said. -- In Baghdad, coalition detained a wanted man who allegedly is part of al-Qaida operations north of the city. Another suspect also was detained. -- Sixty miles west of Baghdad, coalition forces captured a wanted man linked to the movement of terrorists into Iraq. -- Coalition forces detained 10 more suspected terrorists during operations in northwestern Iraq. -- Coalition forces used Hellfire missiles to...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, May 8, 2008 – When soldiers of 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, began inspecting chicken coops in Hawr Rajab, Iraq, in December, they found munitions caches and bomb-making materials instead of poultry. A young Iraqi unpacks chicks in Hawr Rajab, Iraq, May 6, 2009. Funds from the Baghdad-7 Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team allowed his family to refurbish its chicken coop. Deliveries of chicks and feed are intended to restore once-thriving chicken farms that were devastated by recent insurgent violence. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Turner, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division   (Click...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, May 8, 2008 – Medical leaders from coalition forces and international medical organizations gathered at the Jirga Center here May 5 for an all-day seminar to discuss infectious diseases that plague the Afghan population. Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Mark McGrail, a surgeon with Combined Task Force 101, gives the opening remarks at an infectious disease seminar at the Jirga Center in Bagram, Afghanistan, May 5, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Tamara Gabbard  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The seminar featured presentations by experts from Afghanistan’s Public Health Ministry and the World Health Organization. “The purpose...

BASRA — Operation Charge of the Knights has successfully completed missions in several districts -- rooting out criminal elements all across the city since it began on March 25. The Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police have formed a combined effort to systematically move through the districts of Basra, in some areas going house by house, to restore order and the rule of law. Soldiers and Policemen alike are working to make sure the criminal elements are kept out of the city by maintaining a highly visible status. In districts across the city, Iraqi Police and Iraqi soldiers are manning checkpoints,...

TIKRIT — Kirkuk’s Emergency Services Unit and the Aruba Police conducted a successful joint operation against members of a suspected kidnapping ring May 4. One of the suspects opened fire on police as they approached the target house. The police returned fire, killing the gunman. An Aruba policeman was also wounded in the attack. During a search of the premises, police recovered eight false identification cards, one AK 47 with 35 magazines and one pistol with 23 magazines. The police also detained another occupant in the house, who is currently been held for questioning. “The police are doing an excellent...

Iraqi women's committee representatives from all over Iraq sit together for a meeting regarding the needs of women and children of Iraq at the Women’s Council Social held on May 5 at the Rasheed Nahia City Center, Rasheed, Iraq. U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. Rhonda Roth-Cameron. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Representatives from four local women’s committees in the Rasheed Nahia met in Mahmudiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad, May 5. Among those attending the gathering were Soldiers of Multi-National Division – Center and the U.S. State Department’s embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team Baghdad-7, who helped organize the committees. Women’s issues...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2008 – Citizens of Basra, the third-largest city in Iraq, celebrated the opening yesterday of a central market that demonstrated a return of peace and prosperity to an area that until recently was a stronghold of Shiia militias. Iraqi children watch the grand opening ceremonies of the Jameat Market in Basra, Iraq, May 6, 2008. The children were released from school early to attend the community-building event. Royal Navy photo by Leading Airman Jannine B. Hartmann   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Schools closed early as families from the Jameat district gathered with local dignitaries,...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2008 – The people of Sadr City are cooperating with Iraqi forces, but clearing the crowded portion of Baghdad is a painstaking procedure, an Iraqi government spokesman said in Baghdad today. Tahseen al-Sheikhly and Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a coalition spokesman, discussed ongoing operations in Sadr City during a news conference. “We see some places in Baghdad like Sadr City, suffers from the control of the criminal gangs and make those people suffer,” Sheikhly said through a translator. “The Iraqi government exerted a lot of effort to provide the needs for the people of Sadr City.”...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2008 – Coalition forces killed a wanted terrorist and detained 23 suspects in two days of operations targeting terrorist cells around Iraq. Coalition forces targeted the wanted terrorist during an operation west of Balad, about 50 miles north of Baghdad. The man refused to comply with an interpreter's instructions and, perceiving hostile intent, coalition forces engaged and killed him. The terrorist was a leader in the al-Qaida in Iraq network in Salahuddin province, coalition officials said. Another wanted man, believed to be part of the same network, was detained with an additional suspect in a separate operation...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, May 7, 2008 – Army engineers have completed construction of a combat outpost on the Afghan-Pakistani border to reduce insurgent attacks there. Soldiers of Company B, 864th Engineer Battalion, drill into the rocky earth to place charges used for blasting away rock. The soldiers set the conditions for a new combat outpost at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. For Task Force Pacemaker soldiers, the process started with coordinating with their maneuver brethren to secure the terrain where the new outpost would be built in Margah village in...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2008 – Coalition forces apprehended 13 militants and disrupted insurgent operations yesterday in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, coalition officials reported. The troops searched compounds in the Zadran district as part of an operation to disrupt the Haqqani terrorist network, which has trained militant fighters, stockpiled weapons and built explosives in the area, officials said. In the course of the operation, one suspect suffered a head injury while resisting coalition troops. He was treated at a coalition hospital. In addition, several AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition and ammunition vests were confiscated and destroyed or removed. Also yesterday, coalition forces identified...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, May 7, 2008 – Actors from the popular Iraqi sitcom “Mud House” performed the first comedic play since 2003 in Iraq’s Wasit province on May 4. The play “People and People” is performed in front of a packed house at the Kut Municipality Hall, in Kut, Iraq, May 4, 2008. Courtesy photo by James O’Gara  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “People and People” portrayed Iraqi life from a comedic perspective to entertain the audience and to give them hope and optimism for the future, said the actors, Anam al-Rubayai, Ali Dakhil and Majid...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2008 – The coalition has initiated a “focused district development” program in volatile southern Afghanistan to reform community police forces, a military official said yesterday. “[The program is] improving the security of the local people and building their confidence in the government of Afghanistan,” Army Col. Thomas McGrath, commander of Afghanistan Regional Security Command South, said in a teleconference with online journalists and “bloggers.” McGrath explained that the focused district development program removes Afghan police forces from their district for eight weeks to complete uniformed-officer training at a central location. The local police are backfilled with the...

HABBANIYAH, Iraq — Once a month, the Iraqi police are paid for their everyday services. Marines of the Habbaniyah Police Transition Team (PTT), who work with the Iraqi Police daily, ensured their hard work over the last 30 days was rewarded with a much deserved payday May 3. “They put in their time every day and look forward to getting paid,” said Lance Cpl. Adam C. Wemhoner, a gunner for the Habbaniyah PTT team, attached to 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1. “They’re doing a good job working with us and they are catching on to what we...

FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan — The Marines of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division have made immediate progress with Afghans here despite arriving in Afghanistan just weeks ago. The Marines met with the village elders in the Golestan District, arranged for key-leader engagements, and laid groundwork for future civil military projects. While the Marines traveled here to make liaison with provincial and district leaders of the Afghanistan National Police, they also met with the governor of Farah and village elders to open the lines of communication with the Afghan people. The visit culminated with the battalion commander leading his...