Posted on 10/06/2005 4:35:26 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Military offensives by coalition and Iraqi forces have made significant progress against insurgents in western Iraq, and the mostly Sunni Arab region will be safer for voters in next week's constitutional referendum than it was during January's national election, the U.S. military spokesman said Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch joined President Bush in warning that a spike in insurgent attacks is likely between now and the next step in Iraq's democratic transition: the Oct. 15 referendum on the new draft constitution.
In fact, Lynch said that cities such as Baghdad must brace for attacks that could be as brutal as the suicide bombing of a Shiite mosque in the southern city of Hillah on Wednesday, which killed at least 25 people at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"It is predictable over the next nine days that there will be significant acts of violence here inside of Iraq because that is the modus operandi of the insurgents," he told reporters. "Democracy equals failure for the insurgency, specifically for al-Qaida in Iraq, and they are going to do whatever they can do to derail the democratic process."
But Lynch said coalition forces are making progress against the insurgents and will create "a safe and secure environment for the people of Iraq during the referendum."
At his weekly news conference in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, Lynch said that between May and August, the number of casualties suffered by the coalition and Iraqi forces and civilians had fallen by 40 percent.
Lynch said four current military offensives by nearly 9,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces in Anbar province are reaasons for the progress. The province stretches along the Euphrates River Valley from the Syrian border to the outskirts of Baghdad.
He said they have killed or detained several regional insurgent leaders, destroyed insurgent safe houses and weapons caches and destroyed all but four of the 12 brides across the Euphrates River in Anbar province to limit the movement of the insurgents.
Like previous military offensives in the region, the latest two - Iron Fist near the Syrian border and River Gate in and around Haditha - are occurring in towns and villages where insurgents had capitalized on the lack of Iraqi soldiers and police by setting up strongholds.
But Lynch said that when the offensives end, they will leave Iraqi security forces in the towns and villages so that voters will be safe to cast ballots on Oct. 15.
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Iron Fist / River Gate Updates
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Iron Fist:
Operation Iron Fist is in its sixth day, and Marines continue to engage the enemy in the region between Sada and Karabilah. Twenty nine terrorists are confirmed killed in three separate engagements. Two were killed by M1A1 Abrams tanks supporting infantry and seven were killed by “aviation assets” - likely F/A-18 fighter bombers armed with 500 pound GPS or laser guided bombs - when they buildings they were firing from were destroyed.
To the west, in Husaybah, twenty terrorists were confirmed killed when four bombs were dropped on an abandoned hotel being used as a weapons depot and base of operations. Seventy-five terrorists are reported to have been killed during six days of fighting.
River Gate:
Operation River Gate is in its third day. Iraqi Army and U.S. Marines continue to work to clear the cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana. The region is littered with weapons dumps and improvised explosive devices. Ten IEDs hav ebeen discovered so far.
In Haqlaniyah and Haditha, Coalition troops uncovered two caches “consisting of more than 40 mortar and artillery rounds, two complete mortar systems, small-arms and thousands of rounds of ammunition.” The terrorists continue to violate the laws of war, and use places of worship to store weapons and conduct attacks.
Iraqi Security Forces and Marines were attacked with a roadside bomb in Haditha late this afternoon. Examination of the blast site revealed electrical wiring leading to Qaryat Al Khadfah mosque. Iraqi Soldiers and Marines discovered the initiating device for the explosive inside the mosque. In addition, numerous artillery rounds, pre-wired and ready to use as roadside bombs, were hidden on the mosque grounds. No Iraqi Soldiers or Marines were injured by the bomb’s blast.
Seven terrorists have been reported killed and over 170 captured as of yesterday. Five Marines and soldiers have been reported killed in the three days of operations.
Posted 05:13 PM | Permalink | Print Article
I am scheduled to be on the radio with Rob Breakenridge, the host of The World Tonight, at 9:00 PM Eastern. We will discuss the current operations in Iraq and President Bush’s speech this morning on the War on Terror.
The program is broadcast on AM CHQR770 in Calgary. You can listen to the program over the internet by going to:
and clicking the LISTEN LIVE link in the banner or the left hand column of the web page.
I’ll see if I can get a recording of the interview for those who cannot listen this evening.
How many of the Iraqi security forces that we will be leaving behind are spies for the terrorists/Sadr/Iran? That's what I want to know.
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