Thread: Operation Iraqi Freedom/Multi-National Force

Iraq air force wants Iran to give back its planes
Sun. 05 Aug 2007
By Ross Colvin

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's air force commander said on Sunday he hoped Iran would return some of the scores of Iraqi fighter plans that flew there ahead of the Gulf War in 1991, but conceded many of them were probably beyond repair.

Lieutenant-General Kamal al-Barzanji is eyeing the aircraft, which were flown to Iran to escape destruction, as he slowly rebuilds Iraq's shattered air force with American help.

"Until now we have not brought back any aircraft. This case belongs to the politicians," he told a news briefing in Baghdad.

"But we hope we could bring back some of these aircraft to Iraq," he said, adding that only a few would be salvageable.

Security information Web site GlobalSecurity.org estimates that half of the air force fled to Iran in 1991, just three years after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, rather than confront Coalition planes.

Much of the rest of the air force was destroyed during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Iraq's air force is slowly rising from the ashes of decades of war and sanctions that wiped out its fleet of combat aircraft, once reputed to be the world's sixth-biggest.

At one stage the air force boasted 750 mainly Soviet- and French-built fighters, bombers and armed trainer aircraft, according to GlobalSecurity.org.

But Barzanji said there were now just 45 aircraft -- for transport and reconnaissance -- and helicopters. The air force first created in 1931 has been rebuilt from scratch since 2004.

Pilots from Saddam's time form the backbone of efforts to create a new air fleet, although U.S. Brigadier-General Bob Allardice, commander of the air force transition team, said a program to train new aviators had begun.

"It is a complex process to train the air force while also fighting a counter-insurgency," he told reporters.

As yet the new air force has no offensive capability, relying on U.S. attack helicopters and fighters to support ground troops.

U.S. commanders recognize, however, that needs to be addressed if they are to proceed with handing over security to Iraqi security forces to allow U.S troops to leave.

Asked when the air force would be in a position to conduct air combat operations, Kamal said: "That stage is close."

At present the air force consists of C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, a variety of small fixed-wing aircraft for reconnaissance, and a number of Vietnam-era Huey and MI-17 Russian-made helicopters.

Citizens oust terrorists from mosque, help uncover weapons cache
Tuesday, 07 August 2007

Soldiers with Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and Iraqi Army Soldiers review permits for weapons seized during a search of Hayy Al Waziriyah, an industrial neighborhood of the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad, June 26. The Soldiers went door to door with Iraqi Army Soldiers meeting the residents and entrepreneurs of the area while searching for caches of weapons. Spc. Leith Edgar Joint Combat Camera Center.BAGHDAD — Fed up with violent and indiscriminate terror tactics, a group of more than 80 residents of the Adhamiyah district, on the east side of the Iraqi capital, banded together Sunday to oust suspected terrorists from a local mosque.
The uprising led to a string of events over the next 12 hours that ultimately resulted in the arrest of 44 suspected terrorists and the capture of three weapons caches.

The initial takeover of the Abu Hanifa Mosque occurred at about 2 p.m., apparently triggered by news that terrorists had murdered two relatives of a prominent local sheik. As the news spread, angry residents joined the sheik to storm the mosque, long believed to be a sanctuary for terrorists operating in the area, and ousted the suspected terrorists inside from the building.

Iraqi Army troops from 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Infantry Division, responded quickly to control the situation and secure the area around the mosque. Residents led them to several individuals among those ousted from the mosque who were suspected of being involved in terrorist activities. Thirteen suspects eventually were detained.

After order was restored, the Iraqi Army received a tip about a weapons cache hidden near the mosque. At about 7 p.m., Iraqi forces returned to the Abu Hanifa Mosque and uncovered a massive illegal weapons cache in an outside courtyard. The cache contained several already-assembled improvised explosive devices, dynamite, mortars, rockets, landmines, bomb-making materials, and various weapons.

Shortly after midnight, acting on information volunteered by Adhamiyah residents, Iraqi and U.S. Army forces from 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, attached to the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, mounted a combined cordon-and-search operation of the Al Assaf Mosque, in the nearby Maghrib neighborhood. Iraqi Soldiers entered and cleared the mosque and who took three suspects into custody.

Immediately afterward, Iraqi and U.S. forces returned to the Abu Hanifa Mosque area to investigate reports of additional weapons caches. Iraqi Soldiers again entered the building to search the mosque compound and the cemetery behind it.

They discovered two more weapons caches, which contained two IEDs, 16 mortars, two hand grenades, a sniper rifle, remote detonation devices, radios and more than a dozen weapons. Twenty-eight suspects were taken into custody.

"I think this was a turning point," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jeff Broadwater, commander of 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry. "The people of Adhamiyah have made their stand, and they've showed by their actions that terrorists are not going to be able to come into their backyard and engage in violent acts any longer."

(Story compiled from Multi-National Corps-Iraq news releases)

In

Concerned citizen leads U.S. Soldiers to cache
Monday, 06 August 2007
Multi National Division-Center
Baghdad



Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., uncover a weapons cache that buried in the ground along Route Malibu near Rushdi Mullah, Iraq, Aug. 4. A concerned Iraqi citizen led the Soldiers to the cache. U.S. Army photo.RUSHDI MULLAH — A concerned Iraqi citizen led Coalition troops to a weapons and ammunition cache along Route Malibu, near Rushdi Mullah, Aug. 4.

Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum N.Y., followed the man to the cache site, where they uncovered weapons buried in the ground.

The cache consisted of a ZSU-1 anti-aircraft weapon, 200 12.7mm heavy machine gun rounds and four 57mm rockets.

An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the contents of the cache in a controlled detonation.



Pictured are weapons that were found in a cache along Route Malibu near Rushdi Mullah, Iraq, Aug. 4 which consisted of a ZSU-1 anti-aircraft weapon, 200 12.7mm heavy machine gun rounds and four 57mm rockets. A concerned Iraqi citizen led U.S. Soldiers to the cache. U.S. Army photo.

Coalition forces target al-Qaeda leaders around Baghdad
Wednesday, 08 August 2007


Houston native, Pfc. Ivan Gallegos, a rifleman with Company C, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, pauses for a rest in front of an abandoned building in western Baghdad Thursday. Gallegos’ platoon found explosive-making materials and homemade explosives during a search of the property, which was subsequently destroyed by an explosive ordnance disposal team. The Soldiers, based out of Fort Stewart, Ga., operate in western Baghdad as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. Photo by Spc. Leith Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.BAGHDAD — Coalition forces killed eight terrorists and detained 14 suspected terrorists during coordinated operations targeting a senior al-Qaeda leader west of Tarmiyah over the past two days.

Forces conducted an operation yesterday targeting the al-Qaeda emir of the northern belts around Baghdad, who is associated with deadly car bomb attacks in the city.

Surveillance indicated the senior leader and his associates had entered a building in a remote area. Coalition forces declared the target hostile and called in an air strike. Secondary explosions ignited after the initial strike, indicating there were explosives inside. Forces assess five terrorists were killed in the strike.

When ground forces approached the site to assess damage, a terrorist engaged them with small-arms fire. Countering in self-defense, forces returned fire and killed the armed man. The ground forces resumed their approach to the building but discovered multiple fighting positions, heavy machine guns, booby traps and vehicles wired with explosives. Coalition forces evacuated the area and called in air assets to destroy the enemy weapons.

Acting on intelligence gained from yesterday’s operation, Coalition forces conducted additional coordinated raids in the area this morning. During the first of those, forces used explosives to breach a door and enter a targeted building. A woman standing behind the door was killed in the explosion. Iraqis on the scene told Coalition forces her husband had told her to block the door from the Americans.

As ground forces secured the building, one man was discovered concealing himself in another room, armed with grenades and a rifle aimed at the assault force. Coalition forces engaged the armed man and killed him. As they secured additional buildings on the scene, a man rushed to a window and attempted to pull a rifle from behind the curtains. Forces reacted to the hostile threat by engaging the man and killing him.

During a raid on another building, ground forces brought the occupants of a building outside to secure the area. One man, after previously being compliant, turned and rushed back into the building. Coalition forces, perceiving a hostile threat, engaged the man and wounded him. He was treated on site and taken to a military medical facility for further treatment. He and six other suspected terrorists were detained during the raid.

Coalition forces detained three more suspected terrorists during raids on four more buildings in the area.

"Taking down the bombing network in Baghdad is a top priority for us," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman. "We will continue targeting the leaders who coordinate and execute murderous attacks on the Iraqi people."

(Story compiled from Multi-National Force-Iraq, Multi-National Corps-Iraq and Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Arabian Peninsula news releases)

In other developments throughout Iraq:

Operation Hoplite clears Had Maksar
Wednesday, 08 August 2007


A combined force of Iraqi and U.S. Army Soldiers move from house to house during Operation Hoplite, clearing the town Had Maksar, in Diyala province, Aug. 4. Photo by Pfc. Benjamin Fox, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs.DIYALA RIVER VALLEY — Iraqi army (IA) and coalition forces in the Had Maksar area of Diyala province targeted al-Qaida operatives and other terrorist forces during a three-day operation beginning Aug. 4, in a continued effort to deny the enemy the use of any perceived safe havens in the DiyalaRiver Valley.

Taking advantage of the increased forces in Diyala, the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army, partnered with Soldiers from the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, conducted Operation Hoplite in the Had Maksar area, resulting in five enemy killed and 10 suspected terrorists detained.

“This operation is imperative as it not only denies al-Qaida’s freedom of maneuver, but provides a safe and secure environment for the people living in the lower portion of the Diyala River Valley,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of coalition forces in Diyala. “Citizens of Had Maksar were extremely pleased with the presence of the Iraqi army, clearly showing the security forces are having a significant positive impact on the population as they continue to fight for their country.”

During the operation, two house-borne improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were discovered and destroyed; two weapons caches were discovered; four IEDs were discovered and reduced; and one al-Qaida vehicle was destroyed.

Attack helicopters from the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade began the operation, with an air assault of Soldiers from 5-73 Cav. Regt. into the main objective areas. The IA and coalition forces conducted a thorough search of the objective areas, to include a detailed cordon and search of each village and clearance of the palm groves.

“We developed a detailed plan in conjunction with some of the local leadership, which provided the ability to isolate, kill and capture the al-Qaida elements who began to seek shelter and safe haven in the village,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Poppas, 5-73 Cav. commander. “As the enemy continues to seek shelter, we will find them, target them, and ultimately bring them to justice.”

After observing armed men trying to escape the objective area, attack helicopters from 25th CAB engaged and killed five terrorists. Ten suspected terrorists detained during the operation were transferred to a facility for further questioning.

The weapon caches consisted of rocket-propelled grenades, artillery munitions, mortar tubes, IED-making material and assorted small-arms munitions.

“Our forces will remain aggressive and persistent in targeting the enemy forces throughout Diyala,” Sutherland continued. “The people continue to recognize the hatred and destruction al-Qaida offers, which is another indicator that the terrorists have no safe haven in Diyala.”

Following the clearance of the Had Maksar area, the IA constructed a patrol base to maintain a permanent presence, further denying the enemy’s abilities to target the citizens of the Diyala RiverValley.

Thousands of miles away, troops take part in Sturgis Bike Rally
Wednesday, 08 August 2007
By Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp
1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs



Low-rider bicycle enthusiasts, all Soldiers from the 1st "Ironhorse" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, at Camp Taji, prepare for a chance to speak with bikers at the Sturgis Bike Rally in Sturgis, S.D., via a live satellite feed Aug 6. Pictured from left to right are Los Angeles native Pfc. Mario Morales, Company B, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, Pfc. Valentin Alvarado of Headquarters Troop, 1st BCT, who hails from Roswell, N.M., Lockport, Ill., native Pfc. Thomas Gutierrez also of HHT, 1st BCT, and Sgt. Chris Delacruz, Co. B, 1st BSTB, and a native of Colorado Springs, Colo. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs.CAMP TAJI — Soldiers from the 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 1st Cavalry Division attended the Sturgis bike rally at Sturgis, S.D.

Well, not exactly.

But thanks to a live satellite feed and the ability to watch events at the rally via streaming video, the Ironhorse Soldiers had the next best thing to being at an extravaganza which draws more than a half a million motorcycle enthusiasts each year to the small burg of Sturgis—a town with a population of about 6,000 people.

The Aug. 6 live video feed allowed Soldiers the opportunity to see events happening in Sturgis. Through a satellite connection, bikers at the rally in Sturgis could see what the Soldiers were doing.

The event was sponsored by the Broken Spoke Saloon, which provided live entertainment for the troops in the form of a band along with motorcycle-themed events, which Soldiers on Camp Taji watched on a big screen.

The Soldiers who are bikers took the opportunity to give shout outs to fellow bikers in Sturgis as well as to send messages to their families.

The Ironhorse Brigade also provided some live entertainment to its troops in the form of a rock band that played for 30 minutes just prior to the events in Sturgis kicking off.

“This type of event brings peoples spirits up and their morale, giving us a little taste of home,” said Pfc. Valentin Alvarado, an infantryman, Headquarters Troop, 1st BCT, who hails from Roswell, N.M. “The fact that the folks in Sturgis took the time to set this up for us shows that they appreciate what we’re doing out here.”

“It feels nice to be a part of something like this. The only thing missing is some barbecue and it would feel exactly like home,” said Pfc. Thomas Gutierrez, also of Headquarters Troop and a Lockport, Ill., native.

Gutierrez and Alvarado, who although not motorcycle bikers, are part of a low-rider bicycle club on Camp Taji and they showed off their highly polished bikes via live video to the folks in Sturgis.

“We like to show off our bikes and we think it’s great for our bike club to be able to have the opportunity to participate in this,” said Gutierrez, who explained that the club takes great pride in its bikes in much the same way that motorcycle enthusiasts take pride in their machines.

“Being able to interact with folks (in Sturgis) makes us feel good, especially with us being out here in a combat zone,” said Sgt. Chris Delacruz of Company B, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, who is also a member of the low-rider club. “It helps to break up the monotony of working eight to 12 hours a day with no days off and allows us to relieve a lot of stress.”

Puppets help U.S. troops reach out to children in Baqubah
Wednesday, 08 August 2007
By Sgt. Armando Monroig
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment



A medical Soldier working with the 431st Civil Affairs Battalion, from Little Rock, Ark., shows off a pocket puppet to a child during a mission in Baqubah in early May. The puppets were donated by Peace Through Puppets, a non-profit organization created by 1st Sgt. Bruce Reges of the 431st CA Bn. and his mother Jean Reges-Burn of Herdon, Va. Photo provided by 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Tikrit.BAQUBAH — During a recent mission with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Soldiers in Stryker vehicles entered Buhriz, near Baqubah, prepared for a firefight.

Two Stryker vehicles blocked the street. Soldiers scanned the vicinity, checked roof tops for signs of the enemy, and cleared the building before entering.

Inside, eight-year-old Iraqi school children looked on in shock, as the U.S. Soldiers went through their school with weapons at the ready.

Two terrified little girls attempted to exit the classroom as the Soldiers made their way through the school.

This reaction was something 1st Sgt. Bruce Reges, first sergeant for Company C, 431st Civil Affairs Battalion, from Little Rock, Ark., was not accustomed to.

The National Guardsman and part-time college professor from Big Rapids, Mich., was accustomed to walking into a classroom to find students eager to learn, not run away from him.

“They see us as extremely (good) at what we do – finding the enemy and destroying their ability to fight,” said the 55-year-old. “Innocents get caught in the crossfire. The bad guys tell the kids we will kill them if we catch them.”

Reges came up with a way to help ease their fears when dealing with Soldiers.

“We needed some way to let them know we are human too – fathers, brothers, sisters, mothers,” Reges said. “So, I thought two small puppets in my cargo pocket would be helpful in bridging the gap.”

He said that if the children could see U.S. troops as human beings, they would be less afraid to see Soldiers in their town.

And that is how the pocket puppets idea was born. With the help of his 80-year-old mother, Jean Reges-Burn, the idea has sparked a movement to supply puppets to other civil affairs and medical Soldiers working in Baqubah. They call the outreach program “Peace Through Puppets”.

Reges initially distributed two-dozen stuffed animal hand puppets to Soldiers in his unit. He said the puppets have helped Soldiers build hope, extend compassion and overcome the language barrier.

“When I see a child, I stop and reach into my cargo pocket. I pull out a small puppet. The reaction is immediate,” Reges said.

He said the response has been nothing but positive from children and the adults that are with them at the time they receive the small gesture of peace.

So far, Regis estimates he has given out about 200 pocket puppets.

“I feel small things will make the difference here. This is a small thing, but you never know where it will end.”

“Peace Through Puppets” is a volunteer, non-profit organization staffed by mothers, wives and friends of Soldiers serving in Iraq. For additional information, log on to PTP or e-mail [email protected]his e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .