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BAGHDAD, Sept 12 (KUNA) -- Al-Iraqiya satellite television channel on Monday aired video footage showing dead bodies of Iraqi people, including children, mutilated by gunmen in the city of Tal Afar, northern Iraq. It showed photos of Iraqi children between the ages of six and 17, with their bodies and faces mutilated while lying down in their bedrooms, in addition to other photos of demolished and looted houses. The station also aired video footage of Tal Afar residents in camps outside the city, as they were forced to leave due to bombings and terror threats.

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. Army commander asserted Tuesday that extremist fighters in northern Iraq committed atrocities against civilians, including beheadings, torture and the booby-trapping of a murdered child's body. "The enemy here did just the most horrible things you can imagine _ in one case murdering a child, placing a booby trap within the child's body and waiting for the parent to come recover the body of their child and exploding it to kill the parents; beheadings and so forth," McMaster said in an interview from Tal Afar with reporters at the Pentagon. His comments came two days after the...

TALL AFAR, Iraq -- Buzzing over this northern Iraqi city in her Kiowa scout helicopter, a .50-caliber machine gun and rockets at the ready, Capt. Sarah Piro has proved so skillful in combat missions to support U.S. ground troops that she's earned the nickname "Saint." In recent months of fighting in Tall Afar, Piro, 26, of El Dorado Hills, Calif., has quietly sleuthed out targets, laid down suppressive fire for GIs in battle and chased insurgents through the narrow alleys of this medieval city -- maneuvering all the while to avoid being shot out of the sky. In one incident,...

An Iraqi mayor has written a dramatic letter to the commander of coalition forces, praising U.S. troops as "lion hearts" and "knights" for liberating his city from al Qaeda terrorists. The emotional letter from gallant Tal' Afar Mayor Najim Abdullah Abid Al-Jibouri to Gen. George Casey is circulating among military families over the Internet and has created a surge of pride in troops. Al-Jibouri's letter calls soldiers of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, who carried out recent anti-terrorist operations in Tal' Afar "lion hearts," who "bristle with the confidence of knights in a bygone era." He said the troops transformed his...

To Whom It May Concern: In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life. To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months. To those who spread smiles on the faces of our children, and gave us restored hope, through their personal sacrifice and brave fighting,...

TALL AFAR, Iraq — The last time the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment served in Iraq, in 2003-04, it was distinguished by a series of abuse cases growing out of its tour of duty in Anbar province. But its second tour in Iraq has been very different, according to specialists in the difficult art of conducting a counterinsurgency campaign — fighting a guerrilla war but also trying to win over the population and elements of the enemy. In the past nine months, the regiment has focused on breaking the insurgents' hold on Tall Afar, a town of 290,000. U.S. military experts...

In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall' Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life. To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months. To those who spread smiles on the faces of our children, and gave us restored hope, through their personal sacrifice and brave fighting, and gave new life to...

The US 3rd Armored Cavalry regiment is leaving Tal Afar [Iraq] in a month or so. They are cycling back home to their families after a year in Iraq. They will be replaced by the 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division. But the mayor of Tal Afar doesn't want them to go. "For [the 3rd ACR] to leave is like a surgeon leaving in the middle of an operation...We don't doubt there are many fine officers in the American army, but during these months, Colonel Hickey and I have created a relationship where I know what he will say...

John B. Dwyer As I’m sure you know, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment has been serving in Iraq (its second deployment there) for the past year. As the regiment prepares to come home, it has received the letter pasted below. I believe many of you will find it an interestingcounterpoise to much of what we read in the press __________________________________________________________ From: Mayor of Tall ‘Afar, Ninewa, Iraq In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall’ Afar from a ghost town,...

In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall’ Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life. To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months. To those who spread smiles on the faces of our children, and gave us restored hope, through their personal sacrifice and brave fighting, and gave new life to...

Iraqi mayor thanks American troops The following comes from Col. Ren Hart. We know this is happening – we just don't hear it enough. John B. Dwyer As I'm sure you know, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment has been serving in Iraq (its second deployment there) for the past year. As the regiment prepares to come home, it has received the letter pasted below. I believe many of you will find it an interesting counterpoise to much of what we read in the press. From:  Mayor of Tall 'Afar, Ninewa, Iraq In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous...

A letter from the Mayor of Tall 'Afar, Iraq to the men and women of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and their families. In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall’ Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life. To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months. To those who spread smiles...

Iraqis in former rebel stronghold now cheer American soldiers By Oliver Poole in Tal Afar (Filed: 19/12/2005) In the low-slung concrete buildings of Tal Afar, a city built on dirty sand and mud, George W Bush sees the potential for military success in Iraq. In recent weeks it has been one case study the American president has consistently cited in order to buttress the rhetoric that the insurgency, and the killing, can be ended. Tal Afar was the site of the largest military operation of 2005, when 8,000 US and Iraqi troops reclaimed it from armed groups. It has since...

Tal Afar voters undeterred by mortar attacks By Monte Morin, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Friday, December 16, 2005 TAL AFAR, Iraq — Crowds of Iraqi voters, many of them women, poured into the streets of this ancient city and lined up to vote Thursday, despite sporadic mortar attacks that killed at least three people and injured eight. Voting queues stretched around corners and doubled back again as festive election season music blared on boom boxes and colored streamers hung from wires suspended over city streets. “Thank God — this is like a wedding to us,” an Iraqi man told...

U.S.Army paratroopers with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, search for a weapons cache on the outskirts of Tall Afar, Iraq, Nov. 18, 2005. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Nathan Kish Paratroopers' Missions Yield Mixed Results The search for a man connected to insurgent activities was unsuccessful, but a search for a weapons cache yielded dozens of artillery rounds. By U.S. Army Pfc. James Wilt 82nd Airborne Division TALL AFAR, Iraq, Nov. 29, 2005 — U.S. Army paratroopers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division conducted a raid...

An Iraqi police officer directs a woman to a truck where she was given a blanket by coalition forces in Tall Afar, Iraq, Nov. 13, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. James Wilt  More Photos Troops Give Blankets to Tall Afar Residents Temperatures in the region are beginning to drop as winter approaches, bringing a need for blankets. By U.S. Army Pfc. James Wilt 82nd Airborne Division TALL AFAR, Iraq, Nov. 14, 2005 — Coalition forces, with the aid of the Iraqi workers, distributed several truckloads of blankets to the local residents here, Nov. 13. With Iraqi soldiers and...

Tall Afar Residents Benefit from Rebuilding A visible sign that the Tall Afar district has stabilized is that vendors are operating and residents are conducting business. By Polli Keller Gulf Region North U.S. Army Corps of Engineers MOSUL, Iraq, Nov. 10, 2005 — Despite 25 years of neglect and a costly insurgency, the infrastructure of Tall Afar, Iraq, is rebounding. Now that the city is secure, its residents will benefit as the economy is growing and Iraqi leadership is ready to rebuild the municipal infrastructure. The rebuilding process is having a positive impact on the lives of its residents,...

A group of Iraqi men in Tall Afar, Iraq, talk to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christopher Gibson, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, about the country's constitutional referendum, Oct. 15, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. James Wilt Paratroopers Aid Election Security in Tall Afar The Iraqi election day went by without any instances of violencein the paratrooper-controlled sector of the city. By U.S. Army Pfc. James Wilt Task Force White Falcon, 82nd Airborne Division TALL AFAR, Iraq, Oct. 17, 2005 — U.S. Army paratroopers from the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment,...

TALL AFAR, Iraq, Oct. 11, 2005 — Coalition commanders and 14 headmasters of area schools met Oct. 6 to discuss and coordinate the clean-up, repair and opening of schools here. "As you look around this room, you can see that whether you are Sunni, Shiite, Turkmen or Kurd, you all agree on your children, your future," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christopher Gibson, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. "We hope we can leave those schools as soon as possible but we do not want to do so too early and allow the criminals...

TALL AFAR, Iraq -- The Iraqi soldiers had already searched the house, according to a sticker plastered across its front gate. But when their commanding general and a U.S. colonel arrived one afternoon last week to praise their performance and observe them in action, the troops wanted to give a demonstration. A fiery explosion -- some soldiers said they saw a man throw a grenade, others said the door was rigged to blow -- erupted from inside, followed by bursts of gunfire. The shouting soldiers stumbled out through a cloud of smoke, covered in blood. The rest of the platoon,...