Today in Anchorage, Alaska:
Sunrise 5:46am
Sunset 10:23pm
Hi 70°F
Lo 52°F
Mostly sunny; warm, nice
Actual yesterday in Anchorage:
Hi 70°F
Lo 48°F
State Hi 76°F King Salmon
State Lo 31°F Barrow
UP WITH TENTS — (Left to right) Staff Sgt. Paul Roy, Master Sgt. Kenneth Velez, Senior Airman William Plum, Master Sgt. Clifford Powers, all of 407th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, assemble an Alaskan tent for a Visual Information unit to support Operation Iraqi Freedom at Tallil Air Base, Iraq. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Karolina Gmyrek
Stolen vehicles returned to Mosul
By Staff Sgt. Mark Swart
August 5, 2003
ZEWEETA, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 5, 2003) -- One by one, they rumbled to life. Parked for more than three months on a grassy, mountain hillside in Northern Iraq, the random collection of 43 government vehicles stolen from Mosul authorities during the war are being returned to the Ninevah Province.
The vehicles were confiscated by Peshmerga forces at traffic checkpoints outside of Mosul as thieves tried to take them out of the city, according to Sgt. 1st. Class Gilbert Ortiz, the 101st liaison officer to the Peshmerga Forces in Dohuk. Any vehicles without proper paperwork were brought to the Peshmerga Special Forces compound for safekeeping as the Mosul government was reformed and restored, Ortiz said.
The handover is a cooperative effort between Mosul authorities, the Peshmerga forces and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) out of Fort Campbell, Ky.
The vehicles included several large buses, flatbed trucks, water tankers, pickup trucks and tractor-trailer rigs. They belong to various government branches, from power to public transportation to the fire department. Many were riddled with bullet holes and are partially cannibalized, but the majority are still in running order, Ortiz said.
"They might not look like much," said Ortiz, "but they will make a difference."
The head of the Nineveh province Traffic Department, Col. Samir Dawood Muhammad, said that the vehicles were primarily stolen for two reasons: cash resale value and possible use in terrorist acts.
The 101st Abn. Div. is serving as a conduit between the Kurdish Peshmerga military forces that confiscated the vehicles and the predominantly Arab Mosul civil authorities. The Americans are also witnessing the transfer, ensuring that all vehicles are returned as promised.
"We hope this will encourage other people who stole vehicles to turn them in," Ortiz said.
(Editor's note: Staff Sgt. Mark Swart is a member of the 101st Airborne Division Public Affairs)
A view from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter shows all that's left of the Uday and Qusay house in Mosul, Iraq, July 31, 2003, after Iraqi engineers were hired by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) to demolish the building during Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. William Armstrong
This is only a certain portion of Uday's palace that was taken by the Marines after 18 hours of fighting during Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. William Armstrong
A view from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter shows all that's left of the Uday and Qusay house in Mosul, Iraq on July 31, 2003, after Iraqi engineers were hired by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) to demolish the building during Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. William Armstrong
A view from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter shows all that's left of the Uday and Qusay house in Mosul, Iraq, July 31, 2003, after Iraqi engineers were hired by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) to demolish the building during Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. William Armstrong
A portion of Uday's palace that was taken by the Marines after 18 hours of fighting during Operation Enduring Freedom. The United States is in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. William Armstrong
A view from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter shows all that's left of the Uday and Qusay house in Mosul, Iraq, July 31, 2003, after Iraqi engineers were hired by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) to demolish the building during Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. William Armstrong