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WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2007 – Coalition forces disrupted al Qaeda operations in Iraq with a series of raids today, killing a terrorist leader and detaining more than 25 other individuals suspected of being al Qaeda members and associates. Coalition forces killed the military emir of Tarmiyah, who officials said was responsible for directing attacks against coalition forces and Iraqi civilians in the area, and another armed man. When ground forces conducting the raid moved toward the target building, they saw an armed man in a neighboring house maneuvering into position to engage the assault force. Responding in defense against the...

SAMARRA — Paratroopers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, have been patrolling and operating in Samarra for more than one year and recently supported the Iraqi security forces in a clearing operation to rid the city of the al-Qaida presence terrorizing Samarra and its citizens. The operation was dubbed “Operation Jalil” in honor of Col. Jalil Nahi Hasoun, Samarra’s former police chief, who was killed May 6, 2007, during a suicide car bomb attack. The operation led Maj. Gen. Rashid al-Helfy, commander of Iraqi security forces in Samarra, his men, and paratroopers of Company C to the...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi and Coalition forces are pursuing extremist leaders in Iraq’s remote areas in coordinated “quick strikes” launched this week, the commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq told Pentagon reporters Saturday. Operation Phantom Strike is a series of joint operations that extend from Operation Phantom Thunder, a corps-level offensive that began in June targeting al-Qaeda, Sunni insurgents and Shiia extremists in, near and around Baghdad, said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno. “With the elimination of safe havens and support zones due to Phantom Thunder, al-Qaeda and Shiite extremists have been forced into ever-shrinking areas. It is my intent to...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2007 – Denying the enemy sanctuary is the major capability brought to bear by surge forces in Iraq, a commander in the region said today. “We do believe the enemy is on the run,” said Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, Multinational Division Central and 3rd Infantry Division commander, as he spoke with “bloggers” and online journalists. “We’ve had a good effect; we’ve killed or captured more than 500 of the enemy in those sanctuaries.” Using combined artillery, aviation and ground forces since major surge operations kicked off in mid-June, Lynch said, his troops have completed operations “Marne...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2007 – Coalition forces detained six men during an operation in Afghanistan’s Paktia province today, military officials reported. Intelligence reports led coalition forces to compounds suspected of housing violent extremist militants, where they found grenades, blasting caps, an ammunition vest and a firing device during a search. “Coalition forces will continue to root out militants whose activities threaten the peace and stability of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” said Army Capt. Vanessa R. Bowman, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokeswoman. In operations yesterday, elements of 1st Brigade, 207th Afghan National Army Corps, advised by coalition forces,...

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2007 – Coalition forces continue to kill and detain suspected terrorists and discover weapons caches during ongoing missions within Operation Phantom Thunder, a large-scale operation targeting al Qaeda strongholds in and around Baghdad. Two coordinated operations in Mosul today targeted a Kurdish extremist known for helping al Qaeda in Iraq facilitate foreign fighters and conduct financial and media operations, military officials reported. While troops maneuvered through a targeted building, an armed man engaged them with small-arms fire, endangering the force and the innocent family members. Coalition forces defended themselves, the women and the children by killing the...

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2007 – Afghan and coalition forces detained 19 suspected militants, killed two dozen enemy fighters and discovered numerous enemy weapons during operations in Afghanistan over the past three days, military officials reported. In operations today, Afghan and coalition forces detained 10 militants in an operation against Taliban forces in the Qalat district of Zabul province. Coalition forces acted on credible intelligence that led them to the suspected Taliban hideout, officials said. As forces began the operation, two men fled the scene with a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher and three grenades. Coalition forces fired warning shots and apprehended the two...

WASHINGTON - President George W Bush has given the CIA approval to launch covert "black" operations to achieve regime change in Iran, intelligence sources have revealed. Mr Bush has signed an official document endorsing CIA plans for a propaganda and disinformation campaign intended to destabilise, and eventually topple, the theocratic rule of the mullahs. Under the plan, pressure will be brought to bear on the Iranian economy by manipulating the country's currency and international financial transactions. Details have also emerged of a covert scheme to sabotage the Iranian nuclear programme. Security officials in Washington have disclosed that Teheran has been...

TEHRAN - A former Iranian ambassador has provided intriguing details about US covert operations inside Iran aimed at destabilizing the country and toppling the regime. "The Iranian government knows and is aware of such infiltration. It means that the Iranian government has identified the covert operatives," said the former diplomat. The ex-Foreign Ministry official said the agents being used by the US "were originally Iranians and not Americans" possibly recruited through US embassies in Dubai and Ankara...

Soldiers in Baqubah use smoke as concealment to move through the neighborhood of Buhriz, Iraq, April 10. Soldiers with Company A, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division took part in a three-day battalion-sized effort to clear the Buhriz neighborhood of terrorists. After the operation, Soldiers along with Iraqi police and Iraqi army continued to maintain a presence in the neighborhood to maintain security for the local people. U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. TIKRIT — Iraqi and Coalition forces continued operations in Buhriz, Iraq, Monday, clearing the...

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2007 – The recent security crackdown in Baghdad has not pushed violence into other parts of Iraq, despite various “high-profile attacks” that might indicate the opposite, a senior U.S. military officer said here today. “Our analyses show that, with the exception of some high-profile attacks in Mosul, Tal Afar and Kirkuk, the cycle of violence in Baghdad does not appear to have spread to other areas,” Army Maj. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, the Joint Staff’s deputy director for regional operations, told reporters during a Pentagon news conference on U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the...

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2007 – U.S. and Iraqi security forces continued clearing operations in Baghdad today, while other coalition and Iraqi security forces discovered and destroyed several enemy weapons caches in the past few days, officials said. Nearly 1,600 U.S. and Iraqi security forces teamed up for a second day of anti-terrorist operations in Baghdad’s Mansour district, officials said. During this sweep, U.S. soldiers with the 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team rescued a kidnap victim. The soldiers also found a weapons cache that yielded several AK-47 rifles, ammunition, mortar rounds and other ordnance. Also today, U.S....

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2007 – Coalition and Afghan forces arrested four people this morning during an operation targeting a known terrorist safe house, military officials reported. The combined force arrested four military-age men with suspected ties to extremist groups believed to be involved in facilitating the movement of anti-government fighters. Official said some were discovered with large amounts of ammunition and currency. Afghan forces, escorted by the local imam, questioned some men who had recently arrived from Pakistan and were staying in the local mosque. Coalition forces remained outside the mosque during the operation. No shots were fired during...

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2007 – Although recent operations to secure Baghdad are off to a good start, Americans must be patient in expecting progress, a senior coalition spokesman said in Baghdad today. It will take several months before all additional coalition forces arrive in the Iraqi capital, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said. Operation Enforcing the Law will take time to implement, Caldwell said during a news conference with Iraqi Brig. Gen. Kassim Atta al-Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman. “Two of the five additional United States brigades have arrived and are currently operating inside Baghdad,” Caldwell said. “The third...

CAMP LIBERTY -- A combined force of Iraqi Police and Multi-National Division-Baghdad troops completed a second day of security operations at the eastern Baghdad district of Sadr City Monday. Members of the 82nd Airborne DivisionÂ’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team and the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division conducted security operations with their Iraqi counterparts and reported no hostile contact for a second day in an area known to be a stronghold of Muqtada al-Sadr, the extremist leader of rogue elements known for extra-judicial killings and attacks against Coalition forces. Some residents seemed genuinely pleased to see the...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2007 – U.S. troops conducted a medical support operation at a school and Polish soldiers handed out humanitarian supplies in two separate operations over the past three days in Iraq. U.S. soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, and the 210th Brigade Support Battalion, both part of the, 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, conducted a medical support operation at the Ahmed Suhel School in Al Taraq, Iraq, Feb. 22. Although the school offered a comfortable atmosphere, terrorists tried to disrupt the day's activities with small arms fire and a rocket-propelled grenade attack. But...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2007 – Iraqi and coalition forces killed or detained numerous terrorists over the last two days, and soldiers detained an Iraqi police official suspected of involvement in sectarian violence, military officials reported. Coalition forces killed three terrorists and detained 11 others during operations today targeting al Qaeda in Iraq and foreign fighter facilitators near Taji and Samarra. West of Taji, coalition forces captured six suspected terrorists with alleged ties to al Qaeda and found weapons, including several rocket-propelled grenades, in the targeted building. As coalition forces started to leave the area with the detainees, they saw...

MEXICO CITY - The Mexican government will expand its anti-drug raids to two states across the border from Texas, deploying more than 3,000 soldiers, sailors and federal police, officials said Sunday. The raids will cover Nuevo Laredo, a town across the border from Laredo, Texas, that has been bloodied by turf wars between drug gangs in recent years. Officials also said that in the two months since intensive raids began in central and western Mexico, they have destroyed almost as many opium fields as plots of marijuana, long Mexico's principal drug crop. "We have begun a frontal struggle against organized...

CAMP LIBERTY — The Iraqi Security Force and Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers began clearing operations in the Shaab and Ur neighborhoods of the Adhamiyah security district Wednesday. “We’re conducting detailed searches in areas that are known, or suspected to harbor terrorists,” said Col. Steve Townsend, commander of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. “All areas will get thorough assessments – patrol down every street, talk to every shop owner and engage the populations at every opportunity to get atmospherics of the area.” Soldiers from the 3rd SBCT and elements from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2007 – Military personnel going to Iraq or Afghanistan are trained, equipped and ready to do their jobs, but there is more to defending the United States and its interests than counterinsurgency operations, the nation’s top military officer said today. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace listens to comments made by the members of the House Armed Services Committee Feb. 7. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services...