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Operation Quick Strike: Neither Quick, Nor just a Strike Things are about to change dramatically in Anbar province. As both Wretchard (here, here, and here) and Bill Roggio have noted, Operation Quick Strike has begun. The question is, why now? An LA Times story (8 U.S. Troops Killed in Battle for Border) on the death of 6 Marine snipers (aside: this is extremely unusual and bears close examination) contained a tantalizing detail of the nature of Quick Strike: The deaths of the Americans, though, highlight the intensity of the fighting in the area after a recent order by Army Gen....

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2005 – Iraqi special operations forces, Iraqi army soldiers and U.S. Marines from Regimental Combat Team 2 concluded Operation Quick Strike today. American and Iraqi forces had teamed up to sweep the Haditha, Haqliniyah and Barwanah areas in recent few days as a part of a joint operation interdicting foreign and domestic terrorists' presence and networks, and collecting intelligence. Quick Strike netted 36 suspected terrorists for questioning, officials said. "This is another operation, similar to those conducted before, that has disrupted the insurgents' ability to operate freely in the western Al Anbar region," said Col. Stephen W....

HADITHA, Iraq (Aug. 10, 2005) -- Insurgents in the Haditha region of the Al Anbar province were met by a group of unfamiliar faces Aug. 5 when the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment arrived in support of Operation Quick Strike. The Marines traveled about 100 miles southeast of their area of operation in Al Qa’im overnight to help 3rd Bn., 25th Marines, clear the towns of Haqliniyah, Bani Dahri and Barwanah just south of the city of Haditha. The task force conducting Quick Strike included many different units task organized for the mission. Each unit, including those from...

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq – Iraqi Security Force soldiers and Marines from Regimental Combat Team-2 discovered a bomb in a building in Haqliniyah during Operation Quick Strike August 8 . Three 155 mm artillery rounds, weighing more than 100 pounds apiece, were wired to a desk inside the building. Marines determined that the explosives could not be removed safely from the building. The bomb was destroyed in place. This morning, Marines discovered a car bomb factory in northern Haqliniyah. There were six vehicles rigged with explosives in varying stages of completion. Typically, terrorists drive the completed car bombs...

August 5, 2005 Release Number: 05-08-06 OPERATION QUICK STRIKE CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq – Approximately 1,000 Iraqi Security Force Soldiers, and Marines from Regimental Combat Team-2 moved into the city of Haqliniyah and the surrounding area today as part of Operation Quick Strike. The operation began Aug. 3 with Iraqi Soldiers, and Marines positioning their units. The operation’s objective is to interdict and disrupt terrorists and foreign terrorists’ presence in the Haditha, Haqliniyah, and Barwanah areas. Coalition Forces confirmed through gathered intelligence that terrorists are operating in these cities and surrounding areas. On the morning of Aug. 5,...

The recent spike in U.S. casualties in Iraq, although tragic, needs to be placed in strategic context. As usual, the press has not done so, focusing on the loss of life without any apparent effort to understand what the fighting that led to these casualties means. But the answer is there for anyone who wishes to probe beneath the surface. In fact, the intense fighting indicates that Coalition forces have stepped up their campaign in Al Anbar province to destroy the insurgency by depriving it of its base in the Sunni Triangle and its "rat lines" — the infiltration routes...

BAGHDAD, Aug 6 (KUNA) -- The US army continues Saturday its military operations in Haditha village targeting armed groups in western Iraq. A statement for the Multi-National Forces affirmed that "quick strike" operation, involving 1000 US marines and Iraqi commandos, aims at attacking insurgents and their hideouts in Haditha, Haqlaniya and Barwana in the western province of Anbar. Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told KUNA the US forces controlled Haqlaniya village after fierce confrontations. They added that major explosions were heard in Haditha due to US air raids on insurgents hideouts.

Pakistani Terrorists Using Kids for Attacks Stay Angry 'Quick Strike' Moves Into Area Where Marines Were Killed WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2005 – About 1,000 Iraqi security force soldiers and U.S. Marines from Regimental Combat Team 2 moved into the city of Haqliniyah, Iraq, and the surrounding area today as part of Operation Quick Strike. The operation began Aug. 3 with Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Marines positioning their units. Coalition forces confirmed through gathered intelligence that terrorists are operating in these cities and surrounding areas. Iraqi special operations forces this morning directed an air strike on terrorists hiding in buildings outside...

BAGHDAD, Aug 5 (KUNA) -- A force formed of 1000 US Marines and Iraqi commandos carried out an attack against insurgents in the towns of Haditha, Haqlaniya, and Barwana. The operation included air raids executed by Iraqi commandos' helicopters targeting buildings the US Army claimed that they were being used as insurgents' hideouts. The US Army also said that its forces invaded the town of Haqlaniya and clashed with insurgents there. Meanwhile, members of the Task Force Liberty arrested 28 suspected terrorists and responded to attacks on the Iraqi Police in several operations in northern Iraq. A US Army press...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2005 – About 1,000 Iraqi security force soldiers and U.S. Marines from Regimental Combat Team 2 moved into the city of Haqliniyah, Iraq, and the surrounding area today as part of Operation Quick Strike. The operation began Aug. 3 with Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Marines positioning their units. Coalition forces confirmed through gathered intelligence that terrorists are operating in these cities and surrounding areas. Iraqi special operations forces this morning directed an air strike on terrorists hiding in buildings outside of Haqliniyah, about seven kilometers southwest of Haditha, where 20 Marines were killed in two widely reported...

Corpsman Brendan John McGuire and Lance Cpl. Benjamin Adams, members of the 3rd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, guard a house on Friday in Parwana, Iraq. A nearby roadside bomb killed 14 Marines, and a civilian interpreter, in the deadliest roadside bombing suffered by American forces in the Iraq war. (Jacob Silberberg / AP)

U.S. Military Pounds Insurgents in Iraq By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer 33 minutes ago A U.S. Army patrol is reflected in a soldier's sunglasses as they search for explosive devices in Baghdad August 5, 2005. It's tedious work in blistering heat but they can't afford to rest. Searching for roadside bombs in Iraq has become a 24-hour-a-day job. Hidden in traffic cones, cans and even dead animals, the improvised explosive device (IED) is one of the leading killers of U.S. troops, accounting for about 35 percent of total deaths. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. Marines and Iraqi troops...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. Marines and Iraqi troops pounded insurgents with bombs and tank cannons Friday during a major offensive along a stretch of the Euphrates River valley where 22 Marines were killed this week. About 800 U.S. Marines and 180 Iraqi soldiers moved into Haqlaniyah, one of a cluster of western towns in Anbar province around the Haditha Dam that is believed to be a stronghold of Iraqi insurgents and foreign fighters. Heavy Abrams tanks battled insurgents armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, while U.S. jets destroyed at least four buildings _ two of which were found booby-trapped with...

BAGHDAD, Iraq- The American military said today it had begun a major offensive backed by fighter jets and tanks in the rebellious desert region of western Iraq, where at least 22 marines have been killed since Monday in one of the deadliest weeks of the war for the Americans. With a first draft of the new constitution due in just 10 days, the country's most revered Shiite cleric made explicit recommendations for the first time. The cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, wants Islam to be "the main source" of legislation, supports regional autonomy and backs an electoral system that would...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - About 1,000 U.S. Marines and Iraqi forces launched attacks in western Iraq in an operation aimed at disrupting insurgents and foreign fighters in the Euphrates River valley, the U.S. military said Friday. ADVERTISEMENT The operation, dubbed Quick Strike, began Wednesday with Iraqi soldiers and Marines positioning their units, said a military statement. They focused on an area centered around the cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah, and Parwana, about 130 miles northwest of Baghdad. On Wednesday, 14 Marines and their civilian translator were killed when their vehicle was hit by a massive roadside bomb near Haditha as they were...