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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2005/20051005_2949.html
Operation River Gate Begins in Iraq's Euphrates Valley
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2005 – The 2nd Marine Division launched Operation River Gate in the cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana in Iraq Oct. 4, military officials reported.
About 2,500 Marines, soldiers and sailors from Regimental Combat Team 2 and Iraqi security forces soldiers are participating in the operation, making it the largest operation in Iraq's Anbar province this year, officials said.
The operation's goal is to deny the al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist network the ability to operate in the three Euphrates River Valley cities and to free the local citizens from the insurgents' campaign of murder and intimidation, a 2nd Marine Division statement said.
Haditha is an important crossroads for al Qaeda in Iraq's smuggling activities from the Syrian border, officials said. Once in Haditha, smugglers can go north to Mosul or continue on to Ramadi, Fallujah or Baghdad. The city is home to about 75,000 Iraqis, a vital hydroelectric power plant and 28 schools.
In other news from Iraq, Task Force Baghdad soldiers and Iraqi security forces netted 11 suspected terrorists Oct. 3 through today.
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, conducted a cordon and search in east Rashid today, killing one terrorist and wounding another. Two suspected terrorists were also detained.
In another operation, elements of 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, conducted cordon-and-search operations at various locations in Bayaa and detained nine suspected terrorists early today. Three of the nine detainees are wanted members of an improvised explosive device cell, officials said.
A would-be roadside bomb emplacement team became victims of their own device on the night of Oct. 3 in southern Baghdad.
Terrorists driving a car were en route to place an IED when it detonated prematurely. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, investigated the explosion and discovered a small truck at the site of the explosion along with scattered explosive devices. The terrorists responsible had already fled the area.
Elsewhere, U.S. soldiers, responding to an Iraqi citizen's tip, foiled a potential terrorist car bomb attack near an elementary school in western Baghdad Oct. 3.
At 2 p.m., an Iraqi citizen reported a possible car bomb 20 yards from an elementary school. The man said the car had been parked there with its hood up since 11:30 a.m. He added that the driver exited the vehicle after parking it and was picked up by another car, which then drove away.
An explosives ordnance disposal team investigated and found a mortar round, four tank rounds, a propane tank and a radio-controlled detonation device wired to the car's antenna. The soldiers safely detonated the bomb.
In other combat operations Oct. 3, Task Force Baghdad soldiers captured four suspected roadside bombers and found four weapons caches in different areas of Baghdad.
U.S. soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, stopped a suspicious-looking vehicle while manning a traffic control point at around 3 p.m. in southern Baghdad.
When the soldiers searched the vehicle, they found TNT and blue and white wires often used to detonate IEDs in the trunk. The four occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody for questioning.
Coalition forces found the four weapons caches hidden in various areas of Baghdad. The caches contained 29 mortar rounds and a mortar tripod, nine rockets, a bag of TNT with wires running from it, a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher and four RPGs, four machine guns, four AK-47 rifles and nearly 3,000 rounds of ammunition.
The soldiers also found terrorist propaganda and paraphernalia at one of the cache sites.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and 2nd Marine Division news releases.)
Related Sites:
Multinational Force Iraq
2nd Marine Division
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http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Release.asp?NewsRelease=20051022.txt
NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
October 6, 2005
Release Number: 05-10-22
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOLDIERS, IRAQI FORCES CONTINUE OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS IN BAGHDAD
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi security forces and Task Force Baghdad Soldiers continued numerous offensive operations against terrorists in east Baghdad Oct. 2.
Around 4 a.m., a dismounted Coalition Forces patrol in Sadr City discovered a parked vehicle with a heavy machine gun mount in a garage.
The patrol conducted a hasty search of the house and found numerous illegal weapons and material to make improvised explosive devices, including 50 blasting caps and an igniter, two hand grenades, sights for rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine gun rounds, a bullet-proof vest, large amounts of ammunition for AK-47 assault rifles, and both Syrian and U.S. currency.
Two individuals were detained and are being held pending processing into the Iraqi judicial system.
“This was a significant find for us,” said Staff Sgt. Benjamin Phinney, a leader with the unit that made the arrests. “It really boosts morale when we make a positive impact on security in east Baghdad."
“Aggressive dismounted patrolling is the key – it really pays off,” Phinney added. “If we had been conducting a mounted patrol, we might not have seen the truck. The more we patrol, the more information we gather and the more effective we become.”
Phinney said working closely with the local Iraqi population is vital to his unit’s success in combat and security operations.
“One of the keys to finding the terrorists is to get on the ground and listen to what the people tell us,” he said. “We then develop the situation and conduct refined searches based on that information.”
In other combat operations around east Baghdad, an Iraqi Police patrol discovered a suspicious vehicle parked along a road around 6:30 a.m. The IPs, believing the sedan might be a car bomb, did not approach the car but were able to observe from a safe distance that there was a dead body inside.
The IPs were concerned that a terrorist had placed the body in the car as bait, which is sometimes used as a terrorist ploy to bring potential targets closer to a vehicle before detonation in order to maximize casualties.
In this case, the IPs believed, the bait was being used to kill first responders who would approach the body in the car.
The police secured the area to prevent potential injury to pedestrians and commuters. An explosive ordnance disposal team was called to the scene. As the vehicle was being examined by remote methods, explosives inside the car detonated.
There were no casualties.
“It sickens me that the terrorists are willing to murder someone and use them as bait. We will probably never know who the victim in the car was but I can only imagine that he had a family and loved ones, and he was killed for absolutely no reason,” said Col. Joseph DiSalvo, 2nd Brigade Combat Team commander. “I applaud the vigilance of the Iraqi Police who found this car bomb before it could be detonated.”
Later, around 9 a.m., Coalition Forces working with Iraqi Police responded to a report of rockets being fired in the vicinity of the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior building.
The IPs and Iraqi Army forces descended upon the suspected origin of the rocket fire. Within an hour, the Iraqi forces discovered a suspicious ice cream truck parked near a soccer stadium. A search revealed that the vehicle was disguised as an ice cream truck and used for launching rockets.
Further investigation revealed the vehicle had recently launched four rockets; one of which hit a local civilian’s vehicle, causing the death of one Iraqi citizen and wounding another. The other three rockets caused no casualties and little damage.
“These improvised weapons systems are of dubious military value. It is almost impossible to know where the rockets will land. When the terrorists try to employ these weapons, you can expect the collateral damage will be great,” said Sgt. 1st Class Robert Bennett, a fire support expert in 2nd BCT.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS RELEASE, CONTACT TASK FORCE BAGHDAD PUBLIC AFFAIRS, SGT. FIRST CLASS DAVID ABRAMS AT DAVID.ABRAMS@ID3.ARMY.MIL.
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