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http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16911&Itemid=21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20080209-08
February 9, 2008

Operation Phantom Phoenix: Iraqi Army frees 2 kidnap victims, CF kills 3 AQI, detains 7

Multi-National Division – North PAO

TIKRIT, Iraq – The Iraqi Army found two kidnap victims and Coalition Forces killed three al-Qaeda in Iraq operatives and detained seven suspected AQI during Operation Blackhawk Thrasher near Qubah, approximately four miles northeast of Zaganiyah, Iraq, Feb. 7. This is part of the countrywide Operation Phantom Phoenix.

During the joint operation, which involved the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, Coalition Forces detained seven suspected AQI during village clearing operations. One AQI was killed by an Air Weapons Team and two more were killed in a firefight with CF in palm groves directly west of Qubah.

One hour after the firefight, Iraqi Army Soldiers discovered the two kidnapped victims approximately 1 km away in the same palm grove. CF officials believe the kidnappers fled the area and left the victims when they heard CF helicopters, and then were killed in the process of fleeing.

The victims had been kidnapped three days prior in Zaganiyah, and said they were beaten and tortured by their captors. The liberated prisoners identified the enemy killed in action as the people who had kidnapped and tortured them.

“This is the first time we have done a big operation like this with the IP and IA together,” said Charlie Company, 2-23 Inf. 1st Sgt. William Linares. “They did an awesome job. They moved with a sense of urgency, and they knew what they were doing.”

“As a whole, we are making a huge impact in this area, especially working with IA and IP,” Linares continued. “Now we are getting so much more support from the local population. They are actually engaging the enemy themselves when they come in town. That was unheard of before. They see the IA and IP, and (the local citizens) get more confident. They used to be terrified of the insurgents.”

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