Posted on 03/16/2007 10:22:04 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The past 24 hours has seen some interesting developments in Iraq. Diyala has flared up as U.S. troops deployed to the region. Additional U.S. forces will be requested to support operations. Further, al Qaeda conducted some successful operations inside Baghdad, the Iraqi general leading the Baghdad operation was relieved of command and the U.S. is negotiating to dismantle elements of Sadr's Mahdi Army.
As we noted in February, Diyala has become a focal point of combat operations as the Baghdad Security Plan is implemented. The U.S. Strykers from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment--about 700 soldiers and 100 of their Stryker combat vehicles--were shifted from Baghdad earlier this week to restore order to the province and hunt the estimated 2,000 al Qaeda fighters believed to be using Diyala as a base. The 5-20 Strykers moved into Baquba, the provincial capital, and engaged in intense urban combat on its first day of operations. Dozens of al Qaeda were reported killed, while the Strykers lost one soldiers in combat, and 11 others were wounded (six subsequently returned to their units). Two Stryker vehicles were lost, including one in a sophisticated IED attack and follow up ambush.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
Baghdad, March 16, (VOI) – Main security developments in Iraq on Friday:
Tikrit- Unidentified gunmen attacked a U.S. army patrol in central Tikrit, capital of Salah al-Din province, setting a Hummer vehicle on fire, a security source in Tikrit said on Friday.
Basra- A British patrol came under an attack with RPG-7 missiles on Friday with no reports of casualties, the spokeswoman for British forces in southern Iraq said on Friday.
Missan- A member of the Missan Chamber of Commerce board of directors was killed on Thursday night by unidentified gunmen fire in central Amara, 380 km southeast of Baghdad, an eyewitness said on Friday.
Hilla- One man was killed and 12 others injured in a mortar attack by unidentified gunmen on Friday in neighborhoods in central Hilla, 100 km south of Baghdad, a source from Babel police command said.
Kirkuk- Two policemen men were killed and two others wounded in an explosive device attack on a Kirkuk police patrol, an Iraqi police source said on Friday.
Hilla- A curfew was imposed all over the city of Hilla, 100 km south of Baghdad, after the Sadrists , followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, announced staging a demonstration after the Friday noon prayer protesting raids and arrests by security forces, a police source said.
Baghdad- Five U.S. army were killed and three others wounded in military operations in the capital Baghdad and Salah al-Din province on Thursday, coinciding with the U.S. House of Representatives' approval on a plan to withdraw soldiers by the end of 2008, the U.S. army announced on Friday.
Baghdad- A civilian was killed and four others were wounded on Friday when a roadside bomb went off in Shoala neighborhood, northwest of Baghdad, a police source said.
Basra- A total of eleven captives fled al-Shuaaiba jail, 45km west of Basra, after exchanging their clothes with their visiting relatives, the spokeswoman for the Multi-National forces in southern Iraq said on Friday.
Diala- At least 15 people, including four policemen, were wounded on Friday evening when a suicide attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body in Diala province, 57 km northeast of Baghdad, a security source said.
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