Posted on 05/29/2007 3:26:05 PM PDT by mdittmar
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi soldiers and U.S. paratroopers joined forces to conduct Operation Al Nasir Al Ahmar (“Red Eagle,” in English), a battalion-sized cordon and search operation in the northern section of the Adhamiyah District May 26.
The 3rd “War Eagle” Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division was the main effort for the operation, with support provided by paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment.
The purpose of the operation was to disrupt insurgent activity in the Suleikh neighborhood. It was conceived and planned by the Iraqis based on their own intelligence assets, said Capt. James Peay, commander of Battery A, 2-319th AFAR.
The night before the operation, the Iraqis contacted the 2-319th “Black Falcons,” their Coalition partners, to ask for help with the operation.
“The ISF proposed the date and the place and they asked us to support them,” said Peay.
When the operation commenced at dawn the next morning, the Black Falcons were there to provide additional manpower and security for the mission.
The operation lasted throughout the morning, as the troops went house-to-house conducting their search. The operation netted nine suspects taken into custody, including a known sniper. A handful of illegal weapons were also confiscated.
It was the largest operation conducted to date by the War Eagle Battalion, Peay said.
“They’re taking a much more aggressive, dynamic approach to security,” he said.
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