Free Republic

SNIPPET: "Iraqi officials in Al Kut are seeking four suspected Iranian Qods Force operatives behind attacks on security forces. Members of the Iraqi security forces put up wanted posters with photos of the Iranian operates on the streets in an effort to detain the men. The Qods Force agents are wanted for "armed operations against Iraqi security personnel and civilians," an Iraqi security official told Voices of Iraq. "The security authorities in Kut appealed to local residents to report these dangerous persons who are wanted on charges of involvement in terrorist operations in Iraq." The campaign was announced the same...

The US military broke up an Iranian-backed terror cell associated with Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army during a raid in Al Kut in central Iraq. Iraqi officials are claiming the US military conducted the raid without approval. Coalition forces killed one Iranian-backed terrorist and captured six others during a raid that targeted a financier that supports both the Mahdi Army Special Groups and the Brigade of the Promised Day. One woman was also killed during a gunfight that broke out during the raid; the woman was caught in the crossfire. The Brigade of the Promised Day was created by Sadr...

The Salvadoran Cuscatlán Battalion delivered $4 million in medical supplies to the al Kut Director General of Health Warehouse April 1. The supplies, donated by the International Red Cross, are for Iraqis affected by the recent upsurge in violence by criminals. The donated supplies will replenish what was used during the civil unrest in the city and will increase supplies on hand. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles. FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — The Salvadoran Cuscatlán Battalion delivered $4 million in medical supplies to the al Kut Director General of Health Warehouse April 1.“It is very important...

AL KUT — Iraqi Police (IP) and Coalition forces set up a temporary forward Tactical Operations Center (TOC) here March 31, to ensure information passes quickly between IP checkpoints and mounted military police squads. The TOC will serve as a Joint Communications Center between the 511th MP Company, from Fort Drum, N.Y., the IP in al Kut, and support elements at Forward Operating Base Delta. With IPs in the lead, MP squads have patrolled several districts of al Kut. After days of sporadic small-arms fire and clashes with rogue criminals, the IP continues operations to suppress any further violence in...

US and Iraq forces continue to target the Iranian-backed Special Groups in southern and central Iraq. The latest raid in Al Kut in Wasit province resulted in 11 Special Groups fighters killed, Multinational Forces Iraq reported. Al Kut, a logistical hub for the Special Groups and center of power for Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army, has seen an uptick in activity over the past two weeks. Today's raid in Al Kut targeted "a Special Groups criminal element member reportedly responsible for attacks against Coalition forces and supporters of Coalition forces" who "was also reportedly an associate of criminal element leaders...

CAMP ECHO — Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division-Central South Brigade Combat Team conducted a successful military operation in the Al Izza district of Al Kut city Wednesday. ISF and Coalition troops dubbed the Operation Viper’s Bite. The operation, which involved close air support, resulted in the detainment of 13 people suspected of insurgent activities. Three of them are on the most wanted persons list in Wasit province. The rest of the detainees were handed over to the Iraqi Police. The joint forces seized machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, 122 mm artillery shells and approximately 1500 rounds of small caliber...

In April 2004, followers of Iraqi Shi‘ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr launched a well-coordinated uprising across southern Iraq. While Western media focused on events in Sadr City, Najaf, and Karbala, violence occurred elsewhere as well. A Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) source forwarded the following after-action report regarding violence in the town of Al-Kut, the capital of the Wassit governorate and home to the Ukrainian contingent.The unclassified report, written by a coalition security contractor, highlights dysfunction between regional coalition offices and the Coalition Provisional Authority headquarters in Baghdad, as well as tension between diplomats and security officers. The summary faulted a British...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 August 12, 2004Release Number: 04-08-33 IRAQI SECURITY FORCES RESPOND TO ATTACKS IN AL KUT CAMP BABYLON, Iraq - Iraqi Police and National Guard units responded on Wednesday to attacks by armed anti-Iraqi forces on Al Kut's city hall, Iraqi Police stations and Iraqi National Guard barracks. During the resulting firefights, members of both sides were killed and wounded. The governor of Al Kut has contacted the anti-Iraqi forces seeking to reach a peaceful resolution, and return security and stability in...

FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. forces Friday said they had retaken most of a key southern city from a rebellious Shiite militia, and an American-declared halt to fighting in the embattled city of Fallujah was undercut by bursts of gunfire on the first anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. On the western edge of Baghdad insurgents hit a fuel convoy, killing one U.S. soldier and an Iraqi driver the military reported. A Baghdad correspondent for the Arab satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera said the convoy had been carrying fuel near Al-Amiriyah and that not fewer than nine people were killed in the attack....

<p>Re: Bob Arnot in hella firefight on MSNBC right now.</p> <p>Hello, I just have a quick question for you. My name is Cpl Vettel, and I am that Marine that was interviewed in the firefight in Al kut with bob arnot you mentioned in that forum. I was just wondering if you know where i could get the video, or audio to download and watch that, I havent seen it yet. If you could be any help, i would appreciate it. Thanks.</p>

Ukraine Troops Pull of Of KutUkrainian troops Wednesday withdrew from the Iraqi city of Kut, south of the capital Baghdad after heavy fighting with supporters of radical Shiite Muslim Cleric Moqtada Sadr who now control the city, the defense ministry said.'At the request of the Americans, and to preserve the life of our military, the commander of the Ukrainian contingent decided to evacuate the civil administration staff and Ukrainian troops from Kut,' the ministry said in a statement.'The operation began at dawn Wednesday..under escort from attack helicopters,' the ministry added.

    Partial Restoration of Iraqi Marshlands May Be FeasibleWashington -- Despite what initially seemed to be irrevocable damage to the marshlands of southern Iraq at the hands of Saddam Hussein's regime, it now appears that a significant portion of the wetlands may be restored as sustainable managed ecosystems. During a February 24 hearing before the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia several witnesses testified that measures could be taken to rehabilitate portions of the desiccated marshes. "The good news in Iraq is that restoration is completely within the realm of possibility. The difficulty lies in creating...

<p>There's fighting . . . and then there's fighting. Iraqis and Marines bond at ringside, beside the Tigris River.</p> <p>AL KUT, IRAQ -- The war, thankfully, hasn't hit this city hard, but it was still the U.S. Marines who provided the main event.</p>

3 Marines were killed and 7 injured when test firing a new kind of grenade launcher. This happened near the Iraqi city of Al-Kut. The Marines were part of the First MEU.

WASHINGTON, April 20 (AFP) - US intelligence officials have tracked around 12 Iranian agents moving from Tehran to Al Kut in southeastern Iraq over the past month, according to latest edition of Newsweek out Monday. "We are absolutely 100 percent positive that there are Iranian operatives in town," a senior US military intelligence official told Newsweek, adding that several of them were known members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard. US officials believe that the Iranians in Al Kut, 160 kilometersmiles) southeast of Baghdad are primarily intelligence officers gathering information and possibly spreading propaganda. There are concerned though that Iran appears...

If this is already posted I apologize. News 4 New York has reported that a battalion of 2nd Armored Cav is now deployed to protect the supply lines going past Nasariyah. They will replace Marine units that have been required to provide security and allow those units to rejoin their parent units near al Kut.

SOUTH OF AL KUT, Iraq - As the Marines rolled through the night toward an expected battle with Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard on Wednesday, an unlucky bus rushed headlong toward them on Highway 7. The Marines opened fire from machine guns mounted on their Humvees, badly damaging the bus and killing 20 of the 22 Iraqis inside. The Iraqis wore makeshift uniforms and had two pistols between them. Apprehensive about possible suicide attacks and guerrillas in civilian clothes, the 4th Amphibious Assault Battalion of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has done a lot of firing on the road to...

CENTRAL IRAQ (AFP) Mar 27, 2003 - US marines had broken free of fierce fire fights between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and punched forward to within 250 kilometres (180 miles) of Baghdad by Thursday. Looking tired and filthy on a freezing morning, marines were in high spirits after leaving behind the cities of Nasiriyha, Sharat and al-Rafit where they encountered heavy resistance and suffered casualties from Iraqi attacks. "It's a good feeling to push north and closer to Saddam Hussein's backyard. I think he would prefer to hold the fight in southern Iraq but this will show him...

Allied jets target Republican Guard convoysMar 27 2003 The Western Mail - The National Newspaper Of Wales IRAQI military in Baghdad and Basra were last night risking being wiped out in air attacks by leaving the confines of the cities to confront coalition troops.Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard left the capital in a column of 1,000 vehicles.And up to 120 Iraqi troop vehicles drove out of Basra in a southern direction.Harriers and Tornados flying out of Kuwait attacked the armoured convoys.An RAF source said, "A significant number of British aircraft are involved."It appeared the vehicles were heading towards British troops...

U.S. May Face Elite Iraqi TroopsMarch 22, 2003 U.S. and British forces besieged the southern city of Basra on Saturday and pounded Baghdad with impunity in the first daylight air raids of the war. But tough fighting loomed for coalition troops as they pressed deeper into Iraq. An soldier from the U.S. Army A Company 3rd Battalion 7th Infantry Regiment watches the blur of a convoy of 3rd Infantry Division forces.  (AP) "The Americans have no conscience. What have our children done to deserve this?"Amal Hassan Kamel,wounded Iraqi civilian Saddam Hussein talks with elite Republican Guard officers in Baghdad. (AP)...