More than 375 suspected al Qaeda fighters detained in Diyala operation

The Long War Journal ^ | 8/5/2008 | Bill Roggio

[Tennessean4Bush]

Map of Diyala province [PDF]. Click to view.

More than 375 insurgents and al Qaeda operatives have been captured during the first week of Operation Omens of Prosperity in Diyala province. Six senior al Qaeda in Iraqi leaders in the province have been captured during the province-wide operation.

The Iraqi military announced it captured 265 suspected al Qaeda fighters during operations from July 29 through Aug. 2. Five members of al Qaeda's provincial shura, or executive council, were captured during this timeframe.

Iraqi troops captured Qussai Ali Khalaf, the leader of al Qaeda's Islamic State in Iraq in Diyala province; Adnan Gumer Mohammed, the provincial "judge"; Ahmed Quasim Jabbar the provincial military commander; Abu Anas al Baghdadi, "a top al-Qaeda operative in Diyala"; Basem al Safaah, who led sectarian attacks against Shia; and Antisar Khudair a woman who recruited female suicide bombers. Al Qaeda has stepped up female suicide attacks in an effort to bypass increased security.

The arrests over the past two days show the Iraqi security forces are operating throughout most of the province. On Aug. 3 Iraqi soldiers and police arrested 18 insurgents in the Adhim, Kanaan, and Tahrir regions, and captured 15 more in raids throughout the province. On August 4, Iraqi security forces captured 34 "wanted men" during operations in Khalis and captured 15 insurgents in Miqdadiyah.

Operation Omens of Prosperity

Operation Omens of Prosperity began on July 29 after the Iraqi and US military and the government of Iraq signaled the operation well in advance. Diyala has been the most violent province in Iraq this year as al Qaeda has attempted to regroup in the rural farmlands in the eastern and northern regions of the province.

Iraqi and US military intelligence indicates al Qaeda has camps and safe havens in the desert regions, the foothills of the Hamrin mountains, and around Lake Hamrin. "We have seen al-Qaida continue to be pushed into what we call 'the support zones' or the areas of the desert," said Major General Mark Hertling, the commander Multi-National Division North during a press briefing on July 27. "And we will continue to pursue them into those areas, relentlessly pursuing them and showing them there is no sanctuary until they leave this country."

These bases are used to strike and Iraqi military and civilian targets in the urban areas in Diyala as well as in Baghdad.

Operation Omens of Prosperity is currently broken down into three smaller operations: Sabre Pursuit, Iron Pursuit, and Bastogne Pursuit. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Iraqi soldiers and police, backed by about 3,000 US troops, are participating in the operation.

Sabre Pursuit, which began on July 25, four days prior to Omens of Prosperity, has focused on the southeastern region of Balad Ruz. The region appears to have been cleared as local security has been fully transferred to Iraqi soldiers and police and an emphasis is being placed on reconstruction efforts.

Iron Pursuit is a US-led operation that is "directed against all the support zones of al Qaeda in Iraq," Hertling said. The operation is spanning Diyala and neighboring Salahadin province. Iraqi and US troops are conducting air assaults into known al Qaeda rear areas.

Iron Pursuit also serves as a blocking force to catch al Qaeda fighters fleeing Diyala westward into Salahadin. Iraqi troops are "pushing toward the Uzaym River Valley attempting to kill or capture AQI members fleeing from Diyala into Salahadin in order to escape advancing Iraqi Security and Coalition forces." Three al Qaeda fighters have been killed and nine captured so far.

There has been no reporting on Bastogne Pursuit, which was mentioned by Hertling during the July 27 briefing, but the operation is likely to focus on the foothills of the Hamrin Mountains in the Kifri and Khanaqin districts in the north. Iraqi troops captured a senior al Qaeda financier and facilitator in the Lake Hamrin region.

[Tennessean4Bush]

Last one please turn out the lights ping...

[Redleg Duke]

It's a quagmire, I tell ya!

We need to pull out before we win!

[jveritas]

Al Qaeda last days in Iraq. VICTORY has been achieved.

[silverleaf]

Bad news that we took 375 of them alive. Waste of good money to keep 375 future ACLU clients alive.

[Allegra]

Last one please turn out the lights ping...

There are a few cockroaches in Baghdad that still need to be squashed, but their day is coming.

I hear their (largely futile and pathetic) sounds...mostly in the mornings. They've lost their "touch."

Pretty soon, they'll lose their ability to breathe.

[Ramius]

Nice work. That’s a lot of bad guys. That’s got to make it tougher for AQ to pull off more mischief.

Too bad about the code-name, though... “Operation Omens of Prosperity”??? C’mon... I know we want a softer public image with the locals, but geez. It just doesn’t have that snappy ring to it like “Operation Deadly Thunder” or “Operation Blood Bucket” or “Operation Oh Yeah? I Got Yer Insurgency Right Here, Pal”. :-)

[eureka!]

"Operation Omens of Prosperity is currently broken down into three smaller operations: Sabre Pursuit, Iron Pursuit, and Bastogne Pursuit. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Iraqi soldiers and police, backed by about 3,000 US troops, are participating in the operation.

Love the name and that Iraqis are standing up. Oh, to have an honest press here stateside to share the wonderful story finally unfolding in Iraq...

[rfp1234]

[BOBTHENAILER]

Last one please turn out the lights ping...

I'm really lovin' these kinda numbers, although even one is good.

[Tennessean4Bush]

Operation Omens of Prosperity?

The Iraqis are leading and naming these, I believe.

[Tennessean4Bush]

Pretty soon, they'll lose their ability to breathe.

Amen to that. Can you describe the contrast now versus when you were in country six months ago?

[Tennessean4Bush]

Al Qaeda last days in Iraq. VICTORY has been achieved.

It's a beautiful thing, no?

[Tennessean4Bush]

I'm really lovin' these kinda numbers

Yes, they are down to the last few hundred "dead-enders." If you look at it in a strictly Darwinian fashion, those who are left are ones that never got the message that all the others have long ago headed to Pakistan.

[Ramius]

I hear their (largely futile and pathetic) sounds...mostly in the mornings. They've lost their "touch."

That's an interesting and telling observation. It tells that they're getting down to the 3rd-stringers, and the ones that knew what they were doing are either dead or fled. Not only are they hitting less often but our guys (now combat-hardened and wisened by experience) are playing their junior varsity. Good news. Not only are we beating them but we're beating them at an accelerating pace.

Lovin' it.

[BOBTHENAILER]

If you look at it in a strictly Darwinian fashion, those who are left are ones that never got the message that all the others have long ago headed to Pakistan.

Well said. In like Darwinian fashion, this is a species that doesn't deserve to survive.

[jveritas]

Absolutely :)

God Bless President Bush and our brave troops.

[Marine_Uncle]

As the Iraqi forces continue to grow in strength and numbers, the day of reckoning is in order for those that remain to stay under the sway of Izzat Ibriham al Douri.
He soon will be the last major issue to contend with in Iraq, once AQIR is literally booted out. The Shia and Sunni militias that will survive in some resemblance to a loose security force with the provincial and central government blessings will no longer be against the new government and new directions in Iraq for the most part. If so they will be dealt with similar to what is happening with Sadr's forces.
I make these predictions fully well understanding much of the current military under the Shia majority government really has stemmed from the Badr Brigade long operating in the southern provinces. In short under for a long time Hakim's guidance. But if Hakim is forced to not deal with his Iranian influences, Iraq will continue to progress along a line of unity not believed possible by many in the past.
Only general al Douri will be a question mark. Perhaps he will finally see the light, and strike a deal with the government to cease all anti-Iraqi Government activities.
Either that are be finally found and captured, to then disclose a lot of yet unknowns as to where WMD's, Iraqi bank money etc., where shipped to. He is the last vestige of the Saddam horror story to be put to rest.
With his sworn allegience to Zman being a thing of the past, and no AQIR to pass money for support, he really will have little reason to believe his dreams of some form of Sunni come back is probable. A lot of state secrets that up till now lay hidden will be exposed, to most likely further show of how Saddam planned on using his WMD programs in the future. All we have to do is find and capture him. He obviously has been very reclusive for the past four years or so. But surely there are Iraqi that know exactly where he resides or safe houses he moves to on a daily basis.
If he is not residing in Syria or another Arab country currently, then he just may be found in this province or northward into the upper two provinces.
Who knows. He may be bedded down in some sub ground fort around Tikrit that will become exposed in the months ahead.

[Allegra]

Amen to that. Can you describe the contrast now versus when you were in country six months ago?

Actually, six months ago (February), things were pretty calm. In late March, the Mehdi Army fight erupted and there was literally a daily hail of mortars and rockets coming in on us infidels.

It took a couple of months for our forces and the Iraqi Army to pretty much quash that and now things are relatively peaceful again.

The punks still try things now and then - both the iranian-backed Shia militia punks and the al Qaeda punks, but they're just making a$$es of themselves for the most part now.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks T4B. Al Qaeda is making a “valiant struggle to stay dead.”