Posted on 06/20/2008 12:09:59 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The Iraqi security forces have detained five senior Sadrist leaders and a department director in Maysan province during Operation Promise of Peace. The Mahdi Army, the armed wing of the Sadrist movement, has not put up any opposition to the government’s efforts to secure Maysan, a Sadrist stronghold on the Iranian border.
Iraqi forces are conducting a series of raids in Amarah and throughout the southern province, "capturing key targets including government officials wanted by the authorities in a number of cases," said Brigadier General Abdul Karim Khalaf, a spokesman for Iraq's Ministry of the Interior.
"Five officials from the provincial council who represent the Sadr movement have been arrested for aiding the militia," Mahdi al Asadi, the spokesman for the Maysan police told AFP. Iraqi forces detained the mayor of Amarah and the deputy governor yesterday.
Iraqi forces also detained Engineer Mohammed Nouri, the provincial director of the irrigation projects department after discovering "amounts of weapons and ammunitions hidden in one of the department’s stores," an anonymous source told Voices of Iraq.
Thirty-one "wanted men" have been detained since the operation was kicked off in Amarah yesterday. Five Mahdi Army fighters surrendered to the security forces. More than 60 "militiamen" surrendered during the amnesty period.
Several large weapons caches and a command and control center have also been uncovered in the province. "A militia headquarters was seized by Iraqi Security Forces after a weapons cache was discovered containing 676 mines, 249 mortar rounds, 241 rocket-propelled grenades and four homemade-rocket launchers," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. "In operations surrounding Amarah, a total of 273 mortar rounds were discovered, along with numerous other accelerants."
(Excerpt) Read more at longwarjournal.org ...
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Sadrists are on the run
The Mahdi Army has not fought back as Sadrist leaders and Mahdi Army commanders and fighters are rounded up in Amarah, Khalaf said.
The Iraqi security forces will expand their operations right along the Iranian border in an attempt to disrupt the Mahdi Army supply lines from Iran. "The operations would include a drive into Marshes area where important targets are hiding."
The push into the Marshes comes as the Iraqi security forces have ramped up operations in neighboring Basrah, Wasit and Dhi Qhar provinces.
Goody goody goody goody!!!
About time!
Good news ping!
God only knows what they’re gonna find in the rushes.. Good hunting and be safe, Troops!
Pinging those who have posted articles on the Iraq topic....
Iraqi police conduct operations in Dhi Qhar
***********************EXCERPT*****************
By Bill RoggioJune 10, 2008 12:51 PM
The Iraqi security forces continue to press operations against the Mahdi Army and the Iranian-built terror networks in southern Iraq. Iraqi police conducted a major sweep in the southern province of Dhi Qhar on June 10, while US and Iraqi forces target Mahdi Army leaders and weapons caches throughout the South.
Police detained 55 "wanted men" - a term used by the Iraqi security forces to describe Mahdi Army fighters - and arrested another 10 suspects during raids throughout the province. Forty-three Mahdi Army fighters were captured in the provincial capital of Nasiriyah,18 were captured in Souk Ash Shuyukh, and four more were detained in the Gabayesh district. Police also found an "advanced bomb" with a photo-electronic triggering device.
The operation in Dhi Qhar occurs as the Iraqi security forces have conducted operations north and east of Basrah. During May and June, the Iraqi Army has been expanding its operations along the Iranian supply routes established by the Ramazan Corps. The Ramazan Corps is the Qods Force command assigned to direct operations inside Iraq.
After clearing the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed militias from Basrah, operations have expanded in the province to into Az Zubayr, Al Qurnah, and Abu Al Khasib along the Iranian border. Az Zubayr sits on the road to Nasiriyah, which is a tactic distribution hub for weapons flowing from Iran to the Mahdi Army.
US and Iraqi security forces are whittling away at the Mahdi Army and Ramazan Corps leadership and infrastructure in the South. US and Iraq force made two significant arrests of Mahdi Army commanders in the South since June 5, while multiple large caches have been uncovered.
Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured a Mahdi Army Special Groups operative "who reportedly had weapons caches in and around his home containing Katyushka rockets, AK-47 assault rifles and suppressors for various pistols" on June 5.
Coalition forces captured a "commander of an assassination squad in Basrah" during a raid in Baghdad on June 7. The operative is also a weapons smuggler and counterfeiter who is "one of a handful of Special Groups criminals who arranges transportation of criminals into Iran for training, and back into Iraq."
Several significant weapons caches have been uncovered in the South over the past two weeks. On June 9 Basrah police found a cache containing seven large body EFPs, 15 smaller body EFPs, more than 650 pounds of bulk explosive, more than 330 pounds of C4 military grade plastic explosives, armor-piercing rounds, and other bomb making items.
On June 6, Iraqi soldiers in Az Zubayr seized 37 improvised explosive devices, 330 mortar rounds, 104 small arms, 20 hand grenades, 72 rockets, 3 rocket launchers and 17 RPGs. Also on June 6, Iraqi soldiers in Hillah found three assembled explosively formed projectiles, 10 unassembled EFPs, three RPG launchers, 10 RPGs, 127 blocks of C-4 explosives, 15 cameras, one magnetic IED, and two landmines .On May 28, Iraqi and US forces found and destroyed more than 2,400 pounds of munitions in Karbala.
For more information on Iran's operations inside Iraq, see Iran's Ramazan Corps and the ratlines into Iraq.
They have been at it a while...see #7.
Thanks!
Little by little, chipping away..
snagging EFPs is always good.
Thanks Ernest for all these.
Iran on Its Heels: In Tehran’s Setbacks, an Opportunity in Iraq
Washington Post | 19 June 2008 | Vali Nasr
Posted on 06/19/2008 4:08:10 AM PDT by shrinkermd
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033233/posts
Iran On Its Heels As Iraqi Government Gets Stronger
Flopping Aces | JJune 19, 2008 | Curt
Posted on 06/19/2008 3:13:55 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033558/posts
Iraqi security forces detain senior Sadrist during Maysan operation
Long War Journal | June 19, 2008 1:04 PM | Bill Roggio
Posted on 06/19/2008 1:40:50 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033514/posts
Iraq says deadline for Shiite fighters ‘successful’
AFP | June 18, 2008 | AFP
Posted on 06/19/2008 11:35:10 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2033454/posts
Sadr’s Special Groups
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies | 13 June 2008 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Bill Roggio
Posted on 06/20/2008 12:38:23 PM PDT by K-oneTexas
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034030/posts
Al-Mahdi Army militias routed without a shot fired
Times of London | 06/20/08 | James Hider
Posted on 06/19/2008 6:54:06 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Edited on 06/19/2008 7:49:00 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033674/posts
Eat Crow, Iraq War Skeptics
New York Post | June 9, 2008 | Arthur Herman
Posted on 06/09/2008 8:22:36 AM PDT by Eurale
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028321/posts
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