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  Task Force, Iraqi Police Detain 10 MOSUL, Iraq - Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) and Iraqi police detained 10 people suspected of anti-Coalition activities during several operations in northern Iraq March 30. In one incident, soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment responded to a rocket attack near Hammam Al Alil, detaining five suspects who were attempting to flee the scene. Elsewhere in Hammam Al Alil, soldiers captured two suspects during a raid and detained one suspect at a traffic control point. Finally, Iraqi police responded to shots fired at a Mosul...

Two Suspected Insurgents Netted in Baghdad Raid American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 31, 2004 – Acting on a tip from an Iraqi informer, coalition forces raided a suspected insurgent safe house in Baghdad and captured two men March 30. The raid netted Basim Ali Rahim and Khalid Mahmoud, both suspected of involvement with the March 18 attack on the Berj Al Hyatt hotel in Baghdad, Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for Combined Joint Task Force 7, told reporters at a news conference in Baghdad today. Mahoud, Kimmitt pointed out, is a former Iraqi soldier and...

A recent spike in attacks against coalition forces in Iraq has left two more coalition soldiers dead, a coalition military spokesman said today at a Baghdad news conference. A coalition soldier was killed and one was wounded today in an improvised explosive device attack on their patrol near Ramadi, said Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, Combined Joint Task Force 7 deputy operations director. The wounded soldier was taken to the 31st Combat Support Hospital, Kimmitt added, but he provided no further details. Another soldier, from the 13th Corps Support Command, Fort Hood, Texas, was killed and one was wounded March...

Iraqi Air Base Renamed in Honor of Revered NCO TAJI, Iraq — The memory of a 1st Armored Division senior noncommissioned officer's service and sacrifice will live on at one of the U.S. Army’s base camps in Iraq. The former Iraqi Air Force base in Taji was officially renamed Camp Cooke March 23 during a dedication ceremony in honor of Command Sgt. Maj. Eric F. Cooke, 1st Brigade Combat Team command sergeant major. Cooke was killed Dec. 24 during a combat patrol in Baghdad when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.Camp Cooke is one of several Coalition forward...

A new Army report reveals that soldiers committed suicides at elevated rates during 2003, with those deployed to Iraq and Kuwait experiencing the greatest increase. But the spike in suicides dipped significantly during the first three months of 2004. But Lt. Gen. James Peake, the Army surgeon general, said "any suicide is something we worry about and want to stop." Recommendations in the report, some already being put into place, include beefing up the Army's suicide prevention program and making behavioral health care more accessible to soldiers in combat and other high-stress environments. The report follows the Army's first mental...

A 1st Infantry Division soldier was killed and two others were wounded today by an improvised explosive device near Baqubah, Iraq, according to a Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release. The soldiers had arrived at the scene after the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps reported an IED. As the soldiers investigated, it exploded, the news release said. The wounded soldiers were reported to be in stable condition at a nearby military hospital. Also in Iraq, the morale of the country's national police remains high, even though they've been the targets of deadly terrorist attacks over the past few months, a...

  United States Department of Defense.News TranscriptOn the web: http://www.dod.mil/transcripts/2004/tr20040322-1302.htmlMedia contact: +1 (703) 697-5131 Public contact: http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html or +1 (703) 428-0711 Presenter: Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, Deputy Director for Coalition Operations and Dan Senor, Senior Adviser, CPA Monday, March 22, 2004 9:20 a.m. EST     Coalition Provisional Authority Briefing              MR. SENOR:  Good afternoon.  I just have a short statement and General Kimmitt has an opening statement, and then we'll be happy to take your questions.               In response to allegations of the former regime's misconduct in the administration of the oil-for-food program, Ambassador Bremer has issued...

Violence continues in Iraq, and coalition forces continue their efforts to kill or capture enemies of the coalition and the Iraqi people. At a press briefing today in Baghdad, Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for Combined Joint Task Force 7, provided details of various recent incidents and operations. In the 24 hours leading up to the briefing, Kimmitt said, the coalition conducted 1,336 patrols, 20 offensive operations and 16 raids, and captured 69 anti-coalition suspects. In the northern zone of operations, coalition and Iraqi security forces conducted 75 patrols, three offensive operations, and detained nine anti- coalition...

Coalition officials said today that the March 17 bombing of Baghdad's Mount Lebanon Hotel killed only seven people, not 27 as previously believed. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for Combined Joint Task Force 7, briefed reporters on the bombing at a Baghdad news conference. Kimmitt said a suicide bomber triggered the device inside a vehicle and died in the explosion. "The bomb was estimated to consist of approximately 1,000 pounds of explosives and artillery shells," he said. The bomb caused structural damage to the hotel and a number of nearby buildings. Kimmitt said that Iraqi Police service...

Iraq: One Year After The Beginning of The WarA special PresentationIt has been almost one year since "Operation Iraq Freedom" commenced, and, for many Iraqis it has brought a lifetime of change: 25 million Iraqis are free, Saddam Hussein is in custody, his two sons are dead, and the country has a new transitional administrative law. President Bush said the adoption of that law marks "a historic milestone in the Iraqi people's long journey from tyranny and violence to liberty and peace." The seeds of democracy have been planted and the foundation for democratic elections has been established. The goal...

An explosion at a Baghdad hotel today killed at least 27 people and wounded at least 40, according to news reports citing U.S. military officials at the scene. White House spokesman Scott McClellan called the bombing "a terrible terrorist attack on innocent civilians," and said it would not deter progress toward a free Iraq. "This remains a time of testing in Iraq," he said. "The stakes are high. The terrorists know the stakes are high, but they will not prevail. "We will meet this test with strength and with resolve," he continued. "Democracy is taking root in Iraq, and there...

  1/14th Cavalry Puts Eyes in The Sky MOSUL, Iraq - A cavalryman completes the five-count sequence and issues the command "launch, launch, launch." The tactical unmanned aerial vehicle is suddenly airborne moving at 70 knots. The crewmembers exchange grins, knowing the mission has started off on the right. They also know that when it ends, the information gathered on this mission might save lives. The UAV, otherwise known as a Shadow, is operated by Fort Lewis-based Troop D, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team). UAVs continuously provide real-time imagery for...

Translator Killed, Family Members Injured in Mosul Attack American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 16, 2004 -- A translator for coalition forces in northern Iraq was killed and two family members were injured today in an attack in Mosul, Iraq. The translator and the family members were in their vehicle when it was struck by small-arms fire. They were taken to an Iraqi hospital in Mosul. Iraqi police are investigating this attack. "These deliberate attacks show a total disregard for innocent human life," said Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, the Task Force Olympia commander in Mosul. "Killing and injuring...

  Task Force 1 AD Finance Soldiers Train Iraqi Counterparts BAGHDAD, Iraq - Soldiers from 1st Armored Division's 8th Finance Battalion and the 1st Cavalry Division's 15th Finance Battalion conducted a three-day course to give Iraqi Civil Defense Corps members a lesson in "paying for freedom." The U.S. finance battalions trained dispersing agents, paymasters and fund certifiers. "We're training the ICDC on internal pay operations," said Lt. Col. Stan Brown, the 8th Finance Battalion commander. The ICDC is one facet of Iraq's defense services. It was built from scratch after the fall of the former regime to act as...

Soldier, Iraqi Team Gets 'Beans, Bullets' to the Troops BAGHDAD, Iraq -- American soldiers here of the 501st Forward Support Battalion and Iraqi civilians are working side by side completing missions that influence the readiness of every unit within the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. The 501st FSB's Supply Support Activity is responsible for receiving, processing, issuing and storing parts for the brigade's fleet of vehicles and providing food and water to the BCT's Soldiers. The SSA's wartime mission differs vastly from its garrison mission because it has the monumental and critical task of providing the "beans...

Brigade Becomes First to Receive Indianhead Combat PatchSsince Korean War MOSUL, Iraq - All across northern Iraq, Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) stepped forward to be recognized for their service to Operation Iraqi Freedom in ceremonies held over the past two weeks. The men and women of the Arrowhead Brigade received their combat patches, and infantrymen and medics in the unit were awarded with Combat Infantrymen Badges and Combat Medic Badges. Everyone who served in the brigade or attached to the brigade since they entered Iraq is eligible for the patch, according Maj....

  Coalition Forces Detain Suspects, Collect Weapons MOSUL, Iraq -- Task Force Olympia soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and Iraqi police detained a combined total of five personnel suspected of anticoalition activities and conducted ongoing weapons collection operations in northern Iraq Friday and Saturday. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment conducted cordon-and-search operations Friday in Mosul and detained four individuals suspected of anticoalition activities, including one suspected of conducting attacks against coalition forces. Concerned citizens of Iraq turned in 60 81 mm mortar rounds, 32 90 mm recoilless rifle rounds, five missiles of unknown type, 25...

Class Work Complete, ICDC NCOs Ready to Lead BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps officially welcomed its NCO "backbone" during graduation ceremonies for the first Primary Leadership Development Course Thursday. The NCOs completed the first class of the Primary Leadership Development Course conducted in Iraq by the United States Army. The ceremony was held at the Camp Muleskinner, which is home to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment's Support Squadron. The regiment is part of Task Force 1st Armored Division. One hundred sixteen ICDC soldiers participated in the historic ceremony. The program followed the U.S. Army's traditional ceremonial...

  CPA Announces Measures to Tighten Border Security in Iraq By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USAAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 13, 2004 -- The Coalition Provisional Authority announced a new policy today to tighten border security in Iraq, an effort officials say will help stem the flow of terrorists and foreign fighters entering the country. During a briefing from Baghdad, senior coalition spokesman Dan Senor told reporters the new policy calls for "increased personnel, new technology and tighter procedures," beginning at the Iranian border. He said the new policy is the first stage in a multi-stage effort...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 March 13, 2004Release Number: 04-03-34 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4ID AND TF IRONHORSE CAPTURE SUSPECTS, WEAPONS TIKRIT, Iraq - 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse conducted 143 patrols and eight raids and captured 11 individuals Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Fifty-one of the patrols were joint operations conducted with the Iraqi police, Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and the Department of Border Enforcement. Weapons and equipment confiscated in raids and patrols throughout the Task Force Ironhorse area of operations include 15 AK-47...