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al Qaeda and Iraqi Security Forces
al Qaeda continues its “Ramadan Offensive” of car bombings in an attempt to disrupt the upcoming election and sow defeatism in the heart of the American public. In an attack in Tal Afar, a suicide car bomber rams his vehicle into the center of an open market, killing thirty civilians and wounding forty-seven. Iraqi police and Army units are targets throughout the country as well. The Iraqi Security Forces are fighting back, and are doing so with much more skill as had been demonstrated in the past. Reports of mass desertions or Iraqi troops refusing to fight are a rarity…
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Recent Operations on the Euphrates
Created by Steve Schippert, Marvin Hutchens and Bill Roggio The following presentation details the current operations being conducted along the Euphrates River which began on October 1, and are still ongoing. The purposes of the operations are threefold: drive al Qaeda, the most dangerous and violent element of the insurgency from the region; establish the security conditions to allow elections on the constitution [October 15] and the parliament [December 15]; and establish a permanent presence of Iraqi Army and police forces. The current operations must be looked at in the context of the Anbar Campaign, which began in November of…
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Week One of Saratoga
Operation Saratoga, which is being conducted concurrently with operations along the Euphrates River, completes its first week. Saratoga is aimed at the hotspots along the Tigris River basin north and west of Baghdad. Over “175 raids and security missions” were executed, with twelve terrorists killed, eight wounded and 750 suspects taken into custody during operations. Near Samarra, a suicide bomber was stopped before it reached its intended target (detonating and tragically killing a child). In the town of Dalish, a known car bomb manufacturer and his partner were killed in a raid. The citizens of Iraq are providing valuable intelligence…
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River Gate Continues in Haqlaniyah
Haqlaniyah appears to be the focus of Coalition efforts at this stage of Operation River Gate. More weapons caches and improvised explosive devices are uncovered. A Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED or car bomb) is discovered at a school in Haqlaniyah and destroyed by Coalition air support. Coalition Forces uncovered a weapons cache outside of Haqlaniyah which “consisted of bomb-making materials, numerous weapons and ammunition, and several computer discs with Arabic writing.” The computer discs will be analyzed in hopes of gaining intelligence on insurgent activities and their command and organizational structure. As we have seen numerous times throughout…
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The Former Islamic Republic of Haditha
Day five of Operations River Gate has ended. Coalition forces continue to clear the cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana. Over two hundred suspected insurgents have been captured, and seven have been reported killed since the operation began. Marines and soldiers are still encountering resistance. Two soldiers were killed during a firefight in Haqlaniyah. al Qaeda has had no compunctions about using religious shrines and places of worship to mask their activities. More details emerge on al Qaeda’s infrastructure in Haditha as a comprehensive house-to-house search continues. Iraqi Security Forces discovered sophisticated propaganda production equipment in a house while conducting…
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Minutemen, Mosques and the Geneva Convention
The jihadis continue to violate the laws of warfare. In Ramadi, insurgents used a school as an ammunitions depot. In Haditha, the “minutemen” used a mosque as a firing point and a shrine to store various weapons. CNN producer Arwa Damon, who is embedded with the 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, reports: According to Capt. James Kimber, commander of India Company, the route in front of the mosque was being swept for mines when the unit was hit by an IED. Soldiers were unhurt and discovered a second IED with a detonation cord leading to the mosque. Iraqi Special Forces searched…
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Iron Fist Ends – A Permanent Presence in Sa’dah
Operation Iron Fist has ended, and is officially a clear & hold operation, as we predicted on day one. Captain Jeffrey Pool confirms this in his latest press release: Coalition Forces have established new outposts in Sa’dah in order to maintain a presence in the area. These positions will sustain ongoing operations to defeat the flow of Al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists from Syria along the Euphrates River Valley. The operation resulted in more than 50 Al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists killed. There is no confirmation if Iraqi troops will participate in manning the outposts, but if they are not…
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Training the Iraqi Army – Revisited, Again
The issue of the number of “fully operational Iraqi Army units” has raised its ugly head yet again. The “news” that the number of “fully operational” Iraqi battalions dropped from three to one has created quite a stir in media and political circles, however the hyperventilation over this issue is misplaced. Iraqi Security Forces rated as Level 2 or 3 units are fully engaged in the counterinsurgency effort. This issue is not new to longtime readers of The Long War Journal. In June, we discussed the meaning of “fully operational” and the media’s misrepresentation of this term. This article was…
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Iron Fist / River Gate Updates
Iron Fist: Operation Iron Fist is in its sixth day, and Marines continue to engage the enemy in the region between Sada and Karabilah. Twenty nine terrorists are confirmed killed in three separate engagements. Two were killed by M1A1 Abrams tanks supporting infantry and seven were killed by “aviation assets” – likely F/A-18 fighter bombers armed with 500 pound GPS or laser guided bombs – when they buildings they were firing from were destroyed. To the west, in Husaybah, twenty terrorists were confirmed killed when four bombs were dropped on an abandoned hotel being used as a weapons depot and…
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River Gates
The operations along the stretch of the Euphrates River from Qaim to Baghdad will not abate any time soon. Major General Rick Lynch has stated, “We’re going to fight our way to the [October 15] referendum, and we’re going to fight our way to the [December 15] election.” According to MG Lynch, there are over 4,800 U.S. forces and 4,200 Iraqi troops in the fight, and the purpose of the operations are threefold; “That we deny terrorists and foreign fighters the Euphrates river valley as an avenue of approach into Iraq; that we deny any safe havens to the insurgency…
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Operation Saratoga in North-Central Iraq
While Coalition forces have been conducting concurrent operations – Iron Fist, River Gate, and Mountaineers in Anbar province, raids in Baghdad, and Restoring Rights in Ninawa province – the soldiers of Task Force Liberty and the 42nd Infantry Division, along side Iraqi Army and police forces, executed Operation Saratoga in the provinces of North-Central Iraq. Operation Saratoga has been ongoing since September; it is a series of security operations in the provinces of Salah Ad Din, Diyala, Kirkuk and As Sulayminayah which are designed “to shape the security environment” for the upcoming elections. The Iraqi Security Forces have taken serious…
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AQIZ Org Chart – Take Two
In May, counterterrorism expert Evan Kohlmann kindly allowed me to preview his organization chart for al Qaeda in Iraq. Mr. Kolhmann has updated the chart and again forwarded it to me for review. The May version of the organizational chart contained 42 individuals. At the time, 10 were listed as killed, 18 captured and 14 wanted. Eight “brigades” and three brigade leaders were identified. Since the release of the May version, three more lieutenants, Abdullah Abu Azzam, Suleiman Darwash and Abu Talha were killed or captured. This equates to three-quarters of the known al Qaeda command structure being removed from…
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Operation River Gate Update – Day Two
Day two of Operation River Gate, which is aimed at dislodging al Qaeda and insurgents from the towns of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana, has ended. Six al Qaeda have been reported killed, and over 110 suspected insurgents detained. Iraqi Soldiers secured Haditha General Hospital, which was used as a base of operations by terrorists last spring during Coalition search and destroy operations. Three IEDs were discovered and disabled. In an effort to contain the terrorists on the southern banks of the Euphrates, the Coalition has severed the bridges across the Euphrates (marked on the map). Operation River Gate began yesterday…
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The Press Along the Euphrates
The Coalition has initiated a broad offensive along the entire length of the Euphrates River, from Qaim in the West all the way to Baghdad in the east. Operation Iron Fist is focused on the border town of Sa’dah and its surroundings. Operation River Gate is aimed at towns of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana at a central point along the river. Operation Mountaineers was directed at southern neighborhoods in Ramadi. And a series of raids in Baghdad are underway to detain insurgents and uncover their infrastructure. The Associated Press‘ Antonio Castaneda describes the assault on the Haditha region, which included…
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Mountaineer Ends
Operation Mountaineer, the joint Iraqi and U.S. cordon & search operation in Ramadi, has completed. The southern neighborhood of Tammin was the main target of the operation, and the railroad bridge across the river was secured to prevent insurgents from smuggling weapons into the city from the west (the railroad bridge is bottom center of the satellite map). During the operation, twelve suspected insurgents were detained. Two of the suspects were captured at a school, and tested positive for explosive residue. The terrorists used the school as an ammunition depot: Coalition Forces discovered a large weapons cache and improvised explosive…
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Enter Operation River Gate
The Anbar Campaign intensifies and Zarqawi’s “Islamic Republic of Haditha” is in jeopardy. The Coalition – including Iraqi Army units – have launched Operation Bawwabatu Annaher (River Gate) and are taking the fight to Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana. This operation is being conducted in conjunction with Operation Iron Fist in the Qaim region, and Operation Hiba (Mountaineers) in Ramadi (which we discussed last night). Approximately 2,500 Marines, Soldiers and Sailors from Regimental Combat Team – 2 and Iraqi Security Force soldiers are participating in the operation, making it the largest operation in the Al Anbar province this year. The operation’s…
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Iraqi Army in Ramadi – Operation Mountaineers
Coalition forces continue to battle with insurgents in an effort to secure Ramadi. Over the past two weeks several incidents of fighting have been reported. John Carlson, a reported embedded with 224th Engineer Battalion of the Iowa National Guard writes “It’s noon Monday in Ramadi as I write this (4 a.m. in Iowa) and there’s been a big battle underway in the city. You can hear the machine gun fire from Camp Ramadi.” The evidence points to low level clashes, however. Mr. Carlson describes an IED (improvised explosive device) hunter patrol manned by the engineers of the 224th. The soldiers…
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Iron Fist – Day Three
Day three of Operation Iron Fist has ended. Captain Jeffery Pool states that reports Marines have taken the fight to Karabilah are “not necessarily accurate” and “the operation is taking place in and around the village of Sa’dah.” This conflicts with Anna Badkhen’s report that Marines entered the town but withdrew. However it is possible Ms. Badkhen confused the location of the engagement (her report from today is likely a summary of the action encountered Sunday). The most of today’s fighting occurred north and east of Sa’dah, in the direction of Karabilah. This morning, Marines discovered a bomb in a…
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The Fighting Moves to Karabilah
The fight in Western Iraq has moved to the outskirts of the town of Karabilah, after the town of Sada was cleared by Marines. Press reports indicate 36 terrorists have been killed so far, with no Marine casualties. Al Qaeda has claimed to have taken two Marines as prisoners, but Major Neil Murphy denies this; “Claims on an Islamic militant website that two Marines were kidnapped in western Iraq are patently false. All Marines and service members attached to Multi-National Force – Iraq are accounted for.” Like the claims of airstrikes on Rumana, excessive civilian casualties and the cutting of…
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Iron Fist IV – Day Two
Day two of Operation Iron Fist has completed. Captain Jeffery Pool issues a status update. Thirteen insurgents are confirmed killed in the fighting, twelve others are suspected killed or wounded after six JDAMs (GPS guided bombs) struck a safe house. Five civilian casualties are reported, and no Marines were killed or injured during the intense fighting. Combat has indeed spread to the area surrounding Karabilah, as predicted this morning.: In one incident, at approximately 11:45 a.m. this morning, seven insurgents were engaged by Marine aircraft West of Sa’dah. Four of the insurgents were confirmed killed and the remaining three fled…
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Iron Fist III – Matador or Restoring Rights?
Marines entered the town of Sada and conducted house by house searches. Anna Badkhen, embedded with the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Regiment reports many of the residents fled the town, and the terrorists took the opportunity to rig homes with explosive devices. Ms. Badkhen also states the Marine are receiving inaccurate mortar fire from the east in the direction of the town of Karibalah. Karibalah is the home of the tribe which has supported al Qaeda in and has battled the Karabilah tribe for control in the region. The media has failed to place Iron Fist into the…
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Iron Fist Update
The first day of Operation Iron Fist concludes. Eight terrorists are killed during separate engagements and one is captured – a potential source of intelligence on the enemy’s infrastructure and defenses in the town. Multiple car bombs are destroyed. Airstrikes, infantry and armor were utilized during the day’s fighting. The fighting appears to be occurring at the perimeter of the Sada, and the insurgents are either attempting to flee the assault or are attacking the Marines head on. No Marine casualties have been reported. Captain Patrick Kerr sends a roundup of the day’s fighting: Coalition Forces, including helicopters from 2nd…
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Operation Iron Fist Near Qaim
Operation Iron Fist is aimed at the town of Sada (Sa’dah) near Qaim. Via an email from Captain Jeffery Pool (updated with press release): A force of approximately 1,000 Marines, soldiers and sailors from Regimental Combat Team-2 launched an operation against a known terrorist sanctuary in the western Al Anbar province town of Sa’dah, in the Al Qa’im region approximately 12 km. from the Syrian border. Operation Kabda Bil Hadid (Iron Fist) began in the early morning hours with the objectives of rooting out Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) terrorists operating within the area and disrupting insurgent support systems in…
