Operation Phantom Fury--Day 360 - Now Operations River Blitz; Matador--Day 255

Armed gunmen attack Al-Sayid Idrees'' Shrine in Diyali

BAGHDAD, Nov 2 (KUNA) -- Armed gunmen attempted Tuesday evening to blow up one of the religious shrines in the province of Diyali north Baghdad.

An Iraqi Police source asserted that the gunmen were able to destroy the outer fence of Al-Sayid Idrees' Shrine near the province's Police Center between the city of Baqouba and Buhruz.

The source added that no casualties were reported while the shrine was severely damaged.

Several religious shrines in the province of Diyali have been attacked recently including, Imam Mansour Shrine, Al-Sayid Salih Shrine and Imam Askar Shrine in the Baldorz town, in addition to Imam Habbash Shrine in the town of Bazaiz Buhruz and the Imam Mohsin Shrine in Baqouba.

Paying Respect to Those Who've Earned It

Monday, October 31, 2005

Bruce Willis is one of the finest and most successful actors in the world. Further introduction would be redundant. Mr. Willis has been to Iraq with his band and the USO, and has been following the events in Mosul through my dispatches. He has expressed his desire to support our troops to me on numerous occasions. One need only read his website to see how strongly he feels about this: www.brucewillis.com.

And so, Mr. Willis wanted to personally thank American soldiers for their successes and sacrifices in Iraq, and made plans to fly to the Fort Lewis area and thank soldiers who fought so well. Mr. Willis will attend the Deuce Four Ball near Fort Lewis, on November 5th, 2005.

His gesture is being warmly and enthusiastically received by the soldiers, who are looking forward to welcoming Mr. Willis to the Fort Lewis area, and thanking him for his support for American troops.

I also have returned to the USA for the first time this year, and am greatly enjoying being in Seattle, and getting to talk again with the soldiers I lived with in Iraq. Nearly 600 soldiers were killed or wounded from the 1st Brigade (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division, while fighting in Iraq. I visited the newly-built 1st Brigade Memorial, and as I read the names of the fallen etched in the granite face of the memorial, I was humbly reminded of the great price our soldiers continue to pay for my freedom to write and to speak.

I look forward to spending the next week with American soldiers at Fort Lewis and attending the Deuce Four Ball on November 5th. Both Bruce Willis and I are honored to be invited. I will write a full report after the occasion.

The Ball will be the last time the majority of these soldiers will be together; most are being transferred to other units, while many others who were under the Army's stop-loss program will depart the service before Christmas.

I will return to Iraq immediately following the Ball, to continue to write firsthand about the dangers facing our troops and their struggles and successes.

http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/2005/10/paying-respect-to-those-whove-earned.html

Sewer Improvements Started in Mosul Suburb

A $625,000 sewer system will bring improved sanitation and health conditions to more than 700,000 of Mosul's 1.5 million residents.

Pre-positioned pipe and marked trench lines will replace the open sewer. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers file photo)

By Claude D. McKinney - Gulf Region North
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

MOSUL, Iraq, Oct. 31, 2005 — By next spring, Al-Zharaa, a suburb of Mosul, will have a below ground, pipe-enclosed sewer system installed to replace the surface flow system operating today. Workers are digging the first 1.5 kilometers of trenches and pipe is pre-positioned to make this modernization a reality.

The replacement system will bring improved sanitation and health conditions to more than 700,000 of Mosul's 1.5 million residents.

Additionally, this project, overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region North, will stimulate the economy by bringing $625,000 to the city in the form of worker salaries, supply requirements and other services associated with construction projects.

"This new sewer will go a long way to improve the living conditions of the citizens of Mosul," said Lee Kenderdine, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mosul office resident engineer. "It is this type of reconstruction project that shows the common citizens of Iraq that a better life is coming."

This type of major civic project is coordinated and directed in partnership with local Iraqi officials.

Editor's note: Claude McKinney is a public affairs specialist at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region North.

Further terror attacks 'thwarted'

From correspondents in London

02-Nov-05

BRITISH forces had thwarted attempts to carry out more terror attacks since the July 7 London bombings and a botched bid to repeat them on July 21, the capital's police chief said in remarks published today.

"The security service and the Met have prevented other attacks in the last few weeks," Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said in an article in The Sun newspaper.

"The sky is dark. Intelligence exists to suggest that other groups will attempt to attack Britain in the coming months," he said.

Sir Ian said it could take weeks or months to understand material that was found.

"One case involved an encrypted computer, which was the equivalent of 60,000 feet of paper. Was there a vital clue in there somewhere? Yes, but we were fortunate that it was pretty near the beginning, otherwise we would never have found it within the current time limit."

He said police chiefs were united in supporting an extension of detention for terrorist suspects to 90 days, if officers were to defeat those planning further carnage.

The issue is to be debated again in the House of Commons this week, with opponents urging Home Secretary Charles Clarke to drop the proposal to hold terror suspects for up to 90 days without charge.

Sir Ian said detention must have rigorous scrutiny by a judge every seven or 14 days, to confirm that continued detention was appropriate.

The victims of the July 7 bombings in London were remembered at a national memorial service yesterday with a renewed call to respect all human life in the face of indiscriminate violence.

About 2300 people, led by the Queen and Prime Minister Tony Blair, attended the service at St Paul's Cathedral, with thousands more watching outside and in Trafalgar Square on giant screens.

But relatives of some of the 52 victims of the worst terror attack on British soil stayed away, expressing anger at a lack of practical support and adequate compensation from the Government since the atrocities.

Australia says has intelligence on terror threat

Staff and agencies

01 November, 2005

By James Grubel

CANBERRA - Australia has received specific information this week about a possible "terrorist threat" to the country, Prime Minister John Howard said on Wednesday.

"The government has received specific intelligence from police information this week which gives cause for serious concern about a potential terrorist threat," Howard told reporters in Canberra.

"I don‘t want to over-alarm people. I have said for a long time the possibility of an attack is there," he said.

Howard refused to give any details about the nature or location of the threat, but said the government would rush through changes to anti-terror laws to enable police to respond.

Australia, a staunch U.S. ally with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan , has never suffered a major peacetime attack on home soil. The country has been on medium security alert since shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Howard said the current security alert would not be upgraded.

The warning comes as the nation‘s domestic intelligence service, the Australia Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), acknowledged for the first time that Australia had home-grown extremists, some of whom had received terror training overseas.

"Some of the more extremist individuals ASIO has identified and investigated are Australian-born," ASIO said in its annual report, adding that some were angry about the war in Iraq, while others believed they did not fit into Australian society.

Four Australians are currently awaiting trial in Sydney and Melbourne on terror charges, linked to supporting and training with banned groups such as al Qaeda.

Media reports said ASIO was believed to have concerns over up to 800 Muslims in Australia who have voiced support for politically motivated violence, while up to 80 people resident in Australia were known to have trained with militant organisations in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Security analyst Aldo Borgu said Australia‘s involvement in the Iraq war and reconstruction had increased the threat to Australia. "It didn‘t create the threat but it certainly increased it," Borgu, from the Australian Security Policy Institute, told Reuters.

Howard said new anti-terror laws would strengthen security authorities to act against a threat, but would not detail what action would be taken in regard to the latest information.

The new laws, which the government has said were necessary in light of the July 7 London bombings, have been criticised by human rights and civil liberties groups.

A shoot-to-kill provision in the new legislation is expected to be watered down after widespread opposition.

Under the new laws police would be able to detain suspects for a week at a time without charge, electronic tracking devices would be used to keep tabs on suspects, and supporting insurgents in countries such as Iraq would carry a seven-year jail sentence.

While Australia has not seen a major terror attack on home soil, Australians overseas have been targeted.

Four Australians were killed in the October 1 bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali, 88 Australians were among the 202 killed in the 2002 Bali bombings and the Australian embassy in Jakarta was attacked by a suicide bomber in September 2004, killing 10 Indonesians.

Afghan police kill Taliban commander

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

KABUL: Police killed a suspected Taliban commander and another insurgent in a three-hour gunbattle near Kabul airport, said Afghan officials on Tuesday.

Also, two Afghans were killed and three wounded when an old mine exploded near a runway at Kabul airport, Interior Ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanekzai said. The men had been clearing the area of mines left over from the past quarter-century of fighting.

In another development, police arrested three men near Kabul who were suspected to be plotting a suicide bombing in the city, said Stanekzai. Security agencies have warned in recent days of a plan for a massive bombing in the capital. The Taliban commander killed in the battle with police was Mullah Kabir, the militant chief in Helmand. Meanwhile, a NATO-led peacekeeping force said in a statement said the twin-rotor Chinook helicopter that made an emergency landing was flying from Mazar-e-Sharif to Kabul on Monday when the incident occurred. ap

British Airways keeps up Tehran service despite blast

11/2/05

LONDON (AFP) - British Airways said its operations in Tehran were continuing as normal despite a small explosion in the building that houses its offices in the Iranian capital.

A BA spokesman in London said no-one was hurt when the "percussive device" -- intended to make more noise than damage -- went off in the building housing the offices of its regional partner British Mediterranean Airways.

"Staff are continuing to work as normal and there has been no impact on BMed services to the city," the spokesman told AFP, adding that security services have been called in.

The Sayeh building also housed the Tehran offices of British Petroleum, as well as a number of other international companies.

A Foreign Office spokesman in London said it had no information that anyone had been killed or injured.

"We are in contact with the affected companies and our embassy staff are at the scene," he added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051102/bs_afp/iranbritainattack_051102095341

42nd ID hands over Iraq operations to 101st Airborne

Maj. Gen. Tom Turner, right, receives the colors from Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, center left. (Anita Powell / S&S)

By Anita Powell - Stars and Stripes Mideast edition

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

TIKRIT, Iraq — Standing in the shadow of Saddam Hussein’s former pleasure palaces, officials with the 42nd Infantry Division Tuesday morning formally ceded operations in north central Iraq to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) from Fort Campbell, Ky.

Attendees and leaders praised the progress that has been made since the 42nd ID, a New York Army National Guard unit, took control of the area in February.

“They have helped us in every aspect,” said Abdul Rahman Mustafa Fatah, 54, the governor of Kirkuk province. “Services, projects … for security, also.”

“The mission has been executed brilliantly,” said Lt. Gen. John Vines, commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Multi-National Corps-Iraq. “To the men and women of Task Force Liberty, I thank you for a job brilliantly done.”

While in theater, the division made significant changes by: increasing the Iraqi Army units stationed locally to 18 brigades; closing 10 forward operating bases including FOB Danger, the former headquarters; and finding and arresting scores of insurgents.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, the 42nd ID’s commander, said the division’s successors will carry on with no major changes.

“There won’t be any radical change,” he said. “That’s not in anybody’s interest. Things will just kind of keep going along.”

The 101st, he said, arrived in the area in recent weeks and are “already out there shaking hands and putting their arms around people. They’re going to have to take a little time to build up a relationship with Iraqis.”

Taluto said he feels that security will improve as more locals stop tolerating violence and begin to participate in the political process.

“I for once believe this is tied to the political process,” he said. “I think that as this process goes forward, the insurgency will be affected.”

He also said he felt that increased Iraqi involvement in security and political spheres would portend peace.

“Iraqi solutions to Iraqi issues: we’re seeing more and more of it,” he said.

Iraqi Army Gen. Abdul Jabar, a lifetime resident of the Tikrit area, said he felt the Iraqi Army would soon be up to the challenge of providing security in the area.

“We are ready because of the aid and help from coalition forces,” he said through a translator. “I cannot say we are 100 percent ready, but we are about to be ready.”

A slew of local leaders — including governors from four provinces and prominent Iraqi Army officials — attended to welcome the 101st and bid farewell to the 42nd. After the ceremony, Taluto was all but drowned under a sea of intricate carpets, decorative plates, pieces of art and effusive shows of affection pressed upon him by Iraqi leaders.

Incoming Maj. Gen. Tom Turner, commander of the 101st and Task Force Band of Brothers, expressed optimism at the prospect of returning to Iraq and working with local leaders.

“The 101st Airborne Division, Air Assault, is proud to be back in Iraq,” he said.

US helicopter crash kills 2 Marines in Iraq

RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - A U.S. helicopter crashed in the area of Ramadi west of Baghdad on Wednesday killing two Marines, the U.S. military said.

A military statement said the AH-1W "Super Cobra" helicopter crashed at around 8.15 am (0515 GMT) and both of the two man crew were killed.

"The cause of the crash is under investigation," the statement said.

But witnesses said the helicopter had come under fire from the ground before it crashed but there was no independent confirmation of that.

"The incident occurred while the two-man crew was flying in support of security and stabilization operations," the U.S. statement said.

Eyewitnesses in Ramadi said the helicopter came down in the Albo Ubaid district of the city and U.S. forces quickly cordoned off the area while more helicopters flew overhead.

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