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<p>Iraqi security officials have discovered the bodies of 23 police volunteers kidnapped last Monday. The men were found shot dead on open land north of the capital Baghdad, the officials said.</p> <p>The victims were part of a group of 35 men seized by insurgents as they travelled home to the northern city of Samarra by bus last Monday evening.</p>

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 28, 2005 — Last week Iraqi Prime Minister al-Ja'fari, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and I announced the decision not to deploy two brigades scheduled to come to Iraq early next year. The 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based out of Fort Riley, Kansas, was originally scheduled to deploy to central Iraq in December to replace the 29th Brigade Combat Team. Additionally, the Baumholder, Germany-based 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, was to deploy to the Iraqi province of Diyala in November to replace the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. The 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division will remain in...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2005 – As Iraqi security forces grow and develop increased combat capabilities, U.S. forces will shift from a focus on combat operations to a focus on supporting the Iraqis as they take the lead in operations, two Defense Department officials said at a Pentagon news briefing today. American units already are partnering with Iraqi units, helping them with training, logistics, and other combat support operations, said Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, operations director on the Joint Staff. This partnering will continue, with an increased focus on developing the Iraqis' combat support capabilities so they eventually will...

ARLINGTON, Va. (Army News Service, Dec. 15, 2005) -- Many Iraqis began lining up at polling stations to vote well before the 7 a.m. opening of the Dec. 15 national elections. Election turnout throughout Iraq is expected to be high as voting continues throughout the day. Iraqi security forces have taken the lead in providing election security, with 225,000 troops on duty -- 85,000 more than there were for the constitutional referendum voting Oct. 15. The tight security involves a three-stage inspection process before voters get to the polling sites. No one with bags, cell phones or packages is allowed...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2005 – Iraqi security forces are proving their effectiveness against the terrorists trying to topple the country's new democratic government, a senior defense official said in Baghdad today. "We have crossed some threshold with the Iraqi security forces that enables us to leave them behind to be the persistent presence in these towns along the Euphrates River Valley, particularly up in Tal Afar," said the official, speaking on background. Iraqi soldiers and police have made great strides in recent months, the official said. They've also assisted coalition troops, he said, in reducing terrorist presence and influence in...

12/13/2005 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFPN) -- Security forces pride themselves on making a good first impression for base visitors. Now they are instilling that same pride and professionalism in Iraqi Airmen. Three Air Force security forces members are training the Iraqi protection force that will ultimately inherit security operations at New Al Muthana Air Base here. The Airmen have been training their Iraqi counterparts for two months, said Tech. Sgt. Jared P. Skinner, NCO in charge of security operations at the base. “We have been primarily training Iraqi enlisted members to develop the mid-level NCOs to perform flight sergeant and...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 13, 2005 – Iraqi security units are taking the lead in preparing for the Dec. 15 national elections. This is the third election this year, and each time the amount of support coalition forces provide has been less, military officials said. The plan builds on experiences gained in the Jan. 30 National Assembly election and the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum. Iraqi police will provide close-in protection at the polling stations. Iraqi public order battalions and Iraqi army soldiers will provide the next level of protection. This second ring of police and soldiers will search for suicide bombers and...

In the dangerous Sunni triangle, U.S. soldiers watch from a distance -- with a growing sense of pride -- as security forces carry out predawn raid for insurgentsQadessiya, Iraq -- In the predawn shadows, a squad of Iraqi police officers in black ski masks and flack jackets rapped loudly on the metal gate of a walled-in compound. All around them, hundreds of other Iraqi police officers and army soldiers pounded on gates across this volatile Sunni village in northern Iraq. The low boom of an American 155-mm gun erupted in the distance, and bursts of magnesium illumination lit up Qadessiya...

  For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryOctober 1, 2005 President's Radio Address            Audio      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I met with the generals who are overseeing our efforts in Iraq -- Generals Abizaid and Casey -- to discuss our strategy for victory. They updated me on the operations in Baghdad last weekend in which Iraqi and coalition forces tracked down and killed the second most wanted al Qaeda leader in Iraq. This brutal killer was a top lieutenant of the terrorist Zarqawi. He was also one of the terrorists responsible for the recent wave of attacks...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 02, 2005 The training started more than eight weeks ago for the "Defenders of Baghdad." In those eight weeks they learned new tactics and strategies so they can defend their country against any threat. The 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division’s training culminated with an activation ceremony at Muthana Airfield June 29. "This is an important day for the people of Iraq," said Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr., Task Force Baghdad commander during the ceremony. "These men before you are all volunteers and have sworn to defend Baghdad." "All of the TV stations are here so...

For Immediate ReleaseRelease # 61-05ABOARD AL BASRAH OIL TERMINAL, Iraq – An Iraqi Marine, working with U.S. security forces, said he and his fellow Iraqis look forward to taking full responsibility for the security of the Al Basrah (ABOT) and Khawr Al Amaya (KAAOT) Oil Terminals. “It’s my duty to defend [the oil terminal]. It belongs to my country. It belongs to my people. Our economy is based on it. I take pride in doing so,” said the Iraqi Marine. Forward deployed Sailors attached to Mobile Security Detachment 25 (MSD 25), the unit currently assigned to protect Iraq’s two critical...

The war in Iraq is a clash of cultures in ways that are often not reported. For example, the United States is very keen, compared to their opponents, on protecting the lives of its troops, and insuring their comfort. This means much effort and resources goes into building and staffing well protected camps. American infantry are very well trained and equipped, by any standard, and when they leave these camps, they are ready to fight, and win, against any hostiles they encounter. But in order to keep the troops as safe as possible, they do not mingle with Iraqis in...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari called on neighboring countries Thursday to help prevent foreign terrorists from crossing into Iraq as a series of attacks killed at least 13 Iraqis and one American soldier. Al-Jaafari's appeal came a day after a top U.S. military official said the leaders of Iraq's most notorious terrorist group recently held a secret meeting in neighboring Syria, where they plotted the recent wave of insurgent violence that has killed hundreds of people. "There are infiltrations of non-Iraqis through the border to carry out sabotage activities," al-Jaafari said of the meeting that may have been...

AMSTERDAM — A large majority of MPs on Thursday backed deploying 25 Dutch soldiers in a Nato operation to train Iraqi security forces in the beleaguered Iraqi capital Baghdad. Opposition parties green-left GroenLinks and the Socialist Party SP voted against the mission. GroenLinks MP Farah Karimi said it was irresponsible to send troops to the most dangerous city in Iraq, where bombings by insurgents are occurring on an almost daily basis. The mission is initially planned to take no longer than six months. But the Cabinet has said a large detachment might also be dispatched to Iraq and that it...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The top American commander in Iraq on Wednesday said U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces were still not ready to take over the counterinsurgency and there was no guarantee they will ever be able to defeat it on their own.Gen. George Casey said the 130,000 Iraqi police and soldiers still lack leaders to direct them in a fight against rebels, and local police forces who've deserted in the thousands in the face of intimidation and withering assaults by guerrillas remain a key weak point.Training and equipping Iraqi troops to eventually take the lead role here is a central pillar...

They’re commandos, elite forces battling terrorists — and they’re Iraqi. Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds are working together to protect their homeland. And they’re trained by American soldiers to do it. FOX News spent a few days watching the unit train to become part of Iraq’s security force, which currently has 120,000 members and a small-but-growing number of skilled fighters from all parts of the country. The school teaches the Iraqi soldiers to handle raids, ambushes and light infantry tactics. “I feel good because we are fighting the terrorists,” said one Iraqi commando.

December 24, 2004 Release Number: 04-12-53 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MOI CONFIDENT IN ELECTION SECURITY PLANRELEASED ON BEHALF OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERIORThe Ministry of the Interior (MOI) has developed a comprehensive security plan for the upcoming elections which will ensure a secure environment for Iraqis who are casting their votes. Iraqi Security Forces will not only handle the security of the polling centers but will also ensure residents are able to vote without the fear of intimidation. Under no circumstances will militia members be required or allowed to participate in the security of election polling centers. The Ministry of Interior...

Seventy-two hand-picked Iraqi police officers completed the training as part of the Iraqi government commitment to field a highly trained counterrorism force. By U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Joe Kane Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq AMMAN, Jordan, Dec. 3, 2004 — A class of 72 Iraqi Counterterrorism Force ‘special forces’ police completed a 13-week counterterrorism course at the Jordanian Counterterrorism Training Academy in Amman, Jordan Dec. 1. The latest graduates - hand-picked Iraqi police - began the training process in late summer 2004, as part of the Iraqi government’s ongoing effort to stand up a highly trained counterterrorism force...

Officials Say Iraq's Forces Founder Under Rebel Assaults By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and JAMES GLANZ, Iraqi Forces: "Just Pitiful" MOSUL, Iraq, Nov. 29 - Iraqi police and national guard forces, whose performance is crucial to securing January elections, are foundering in the face of coordinated efforts to kill and intimidate them and their families, say American officials in the provinces facing the most violent insurgency. For months, Iraqi recruits for both forces have been the victims of assassinations and car bombs aimed at lines of applicants as well as police stations. On Monday morning, a suicide bomber rammed a...

Six Police Stations Open In Samarra SAMARRA, Iraq – Police here are much safer now, following the construction of six new fortified police stations. Engineers assigned and attached to the 1st Infantry Division built one station a day for six days beginning Oct. 11, and spread them evenly throughout the city. The stations cost about $100,000 apiece, according to Sgt. 1st Class Armondo Cadena, a combat engineer and platoon sergeant with C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment. Much of that money went to ensuring security. “They will withstand rocket-propelled grenades, car bombs, and mortars,” Cadena said. It took only...