Brig. Gen. Jaleel, commander, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and Col. Michael Shields, commander, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, highlighted the joint nature of the 10-day operation - in support of Operation Together Forward - as well as the relationship between Iraqi and Coalition forces and the people of Ghazaliyah.
Shields discussed the teamwork necessary to complete a mission that involved the clearing of more than 20,000 buildings, the capture of several individuals, and the discovery of 15 weapons caches.
He also described a marked decrease in murders and violence in both the Shulla and Ghazaliyah neighborhoods.
Shields said that in the 30 days prior to the execution of the operation, there had been 36 attacks and 83 murders reported in those neighborhoods. During the operation, there were zero attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces involved in the operation, and only nine reported murders in the area. Jaleel said terrorist activity has decreased anywhere from 50 to 75 percent in recent weeks.
The Iraqi commander, meanwhile, praised the skill and professionalism of his Coalition partners.
“These troops that just arrived here in Baghdad are very experienced, and we enjoyed working with them during the operation,” said Jaleel.
When asked how effective his troops would be in operating independently of Coalition forces, he pointed to his unit’s past experience.
“My forces were providing security before these most recent operations, and that will continue afterward,” said Jaleel.
But improving security was only one area of success.
“Where we really made gains was conducting neighborhood or district security council meetings with both the Shulla leadership and Ghazaliyah leadership,” said Shields. “This was a great first step toward community improvement in those areas.”
The colonel said the focus of the meetings was on identifying short-term projects for bolstering the community’s quality of life – items such as rubbish removal - and more long term projects, such as sewer, water and electricity improvements.
In another success, Shields said that during the operation they saw several businesses opening across the neighborhoods. He branded the news a positive indicator of improved perceptions of security in the area.
Shields said his team is hiring locals for community enhancement projects, and that weekly neighborhood advisory committee meetings will continue to occur in the hopes of identifying additional projects.
The reaction of community residents has been extremely positive, he said.
“A majority of the people in Shulla, Nur and Ghazaliyah have been very happy that the security forces have come in to reestablish security in their neighborhoods,” Shields said. “You can see it in the children playing in the streets, and you can see it with families sitting out on their front lawns relaxing.
“It’s not uncommon for the citizens of these neighborhoods to walk up to Iraqi security forces or Coalition forces and thank them for what they’re doing.”
Evidencing this apparent trust, the colonel said several of the weapons cache discoveries were the result of tips from local citizens.
“I think what’s really important is that we, as a team, treated the people with dignity and respect, and that the locals appreciated the way Iraqi security forces treated them when they were out patrolling and clearing for the security of their areas,” Shields explained.
“I think the confidence of the people has gone up with the Iraqi security forces … The Iraqi Army, the National Police and Iraqi Police have been instrumental in improving the perception of security within these areas,” he said.
Even with those successes, Shields admitted there is a lot of work still to do.
“We’re working very closely with our Iraqi security force counterparts to provide that security and we’re pushing hard to … improve the quality of life,” he said.
“We’ll continue to target those who conduct criminal or violent activities that destabilize these neighborhoods and threaten the people. They are a threat to the security of the people and the children and the future of this country.”
In other developments throughout Iraq:
(Compiled from official DOD sources)