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| Iraq |
| Iraq Report: Phantom Thunder Update |
| 2007-07-10 |
| While the Washington Post is reporting a massive suicide attack outside of Fallujah, claiming 23 killed and 27 wounded in an attack on an Iraqi Army recruitment center, Multinational Forces West told The Fourth Rail that this report is false. The Post report is based on a Voice of Iraq article, which claimed 17 killed and 27 wounded. 1st Lt. Shawn Mercer, the deputy Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Forces West, he denied such an attack took place in an email. "We don't have any reports of an attack on a recruiting center (or any static location) and certainly not with that kind of death toll in our AO," said 1st Lt. Mercer. He noted there was an IED attack near Abu Ghraib that killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded three on Saturday night, and suspected the reports may have been confused. "I'm not sure how the reporting on this got so confused but the sources were not reliable," he stated. In March 2007, Voice of Iraq falsely reported an attack on U.S. forces outside Rutbah. In the Thar Thar and Karma regions, the Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit "discovered more than 17,000 kilograms of explosives in a series of weapons cache[s]..." The finds included a homemade explosives factory, which "contained more than 6,000 kilograms of homemade explosives, 8,000 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, a common [Home Made Explosive] component, and the equipment to mix, manufacture and transport large quantities of the explosives." Chlorine gas, which al Qaeda in Iraq used against Anbari civilians in the spring of 2007, was also found at one of the caches. In Samawa, Iraqi Army and police units deployed throughout the city "after negotiations with Sadr's office in the city reached a 'deadlock.'" Sadr sought a truce with the provincial government. Eight were killed and 66 wounded in the fighting over the past several days. In Diwaniyah, the 8th Iraqi Army Division paired up with the Hilla SWAT special police and killed nine members of the "rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi [Mahdi Army] militia and captured four others on July 7." In Baghdad, Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured seven members of "a rogue Jaysh al-Madhi" cell on July 7. This cell was part of "a network involved in death squad activities, kidnapping and assassination activities." In Northern Babil province, Operations Marne Torch and Commando Eagle are underway. Late last week, Major General Rick Lynch, the commander of Multinational Division Center and the 3rd Infantry Division, briefed on Operation Marne Torch and stated that roughly 70 percent of the area of operations for Marne Torch in the region southeast of Baghdad centering on Arab Jabour are now under control, while 30 percent still required clearing. No numbers were provided for Commando Eagle, which encompasses the region around Mahmudiyah. In the village of Qarghuli, near where three U.S. troops were kidnapped after an assault on their patrol in early May, residents pointed out 12 weapons caches to U.S. forces operating in the area. Two wanted insurgents were also identified by the villagers and captured. "Residents, fed up with the violence plaguing their neighborhood, have repeatedly revealed al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in the area to patrolling Soldiers," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. In the in Chaka III area, Coalition forces captured four members of an IED cell and found IED materials. Since those arrests, a significant drop in attacks in that region has been reported. The kinetic portion of Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Baqubah has largely finished, as Iraqi and Coalition forces are focusing on aid and reconstruction efforts in the city al Qaeda once declared as the capital of its Islamic State. "Since the beginning of Operation Arrowhead Ripper, at least 60 al-Qaida operatives have been killed, 215 have been detained, 55 weapons caches have been discovered, 124 improvised explosive devices have been destroyed and 24 booby-trapped structures have been destroyed," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. Iraqi and U.S. forces have pushed outwards into the Diyala River Valley north of the city. Al Qaeda has conducted horrific suicide attacks and assaults on small villages along the Iranian border. Much more at link...thanks Bill Roggio! |
| Posted by: KBK |
| #5 Oooh. They are using the words Al Queda. Didn't they read the Sunday NYTs. There is no AQ in Iraq. We keep mixing up our metaphors and our insurgents. Got to listen to Pinch, he's got the scoop and the poop! |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-07-10 11:43 |
| #4 It's reaching a point where the bad guys don't even need to blow themselves up. All they need do is issue a press release announcing a suicide bombing with massive casualties, and the MSM runs it word for word. |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-07-10 09:47 |
| #3 key graf: "The kinetic portion of Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Baqubah has largely finished, as Iraqi and Coalition forces are focusing on aid and reconstruction efforts in the city al Qaeda once declared as the capital of its Islamic State." So we onto hold and build now in Baquba. Still many other parts of Diyala province not cleared yet, and a good part of Baghdad, based on the map the other day. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2007-07-10 09:36 |
| #2 So who ya gonna believe? The Washington Post or the Military? Guess it depends on your agenda.... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-07-10 06:26 |
| #1 Who farted? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2007-07-10 06:17 |