Thanks...Cleanup underway/
That’s got to leave a mark. Ouch!
worth repeating..
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Iraqi security forces killed 10 Mahdi Army fighters in eastern Baghdad early today, Multinational Forces Iraq reported in a press release. Another Mahdi Army fighter was wounded and subsequently captured. The exact location of the clash has not been given. The US military said the fighter occurred in eastern Baghdad, which could refer to either Sadr City or New Baghdad, which is also a Mahdi Army stronghold.
Iraqi Special Operations Forces also captured three of the Iranian-trained Special Groups operatives during raids in Baghdad. One of the operatives helped purchase, distribute, and employ rockets, mortars and roadside bombs used against Iraqi and US forces. The two other operatives are behind the “kidnapping, torturing and killing Iraqi citizens and forcing them out of their homes.”
US and Iraqi forces believe they have out a major dent in the Special Groups over the past year. “In partnership with Iraqi Security Forces, Multinational Division Baghdad has detained 418 AQI [al Qaeda in Iraq] and 450 SG [Special Groups] operatives,” said Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover, the chief Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Division Baghdad, in an e-mail to The Long War Journal.
A significant percentage of those captured are high value targets. “Operatives range from Senior Leaders, to Media Experts to Attack Coordinators, Facilitators and Operators who actively and indiscriminately attack Iraqi Civilians,” Stover said. “Approximately one third of these captured come from the leadership ranks of their respective cells. Approximately two thirds are other operatives that are critical to the day-to-day conduct of extremist attack planning & execution.”