Look away! Progress in Iraq Update: 8 More Terrorists Sent to Hell

Be sure not to leak this info to the press...

Since they (the mainstream media) refuse to cover it, I will. I think all bloggers should be covering the progress in Iraq.

One terrorist killed, two wounded south of Tikrit

TIKRIT, Iraq – One terrorist was killed and two were wounded by aerial surveillance helicopters March 4, just south of Tikrit when they were found removing munitions from a cache site.

Paratroopers from Battery B, Task Force 1-319th, were immediately dispatched to search the area. More than 600 mortar rounds and anti-tank mines with fuses were discovered. An explosive ordnance detachment conducted a controlled detonation of the munitions at the site.

The wounded individuals were evacuated for medical care and the body of the deceased was transported to the Tikrit morgue.


Seven terrorists killed during raid on suspected VBIED cell

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces killed seven terrorists during an operation Wednesday and captured six others today while targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Intelligence reports indicated terrorists directing vehicle-borne improvised explosive device operations and the distribution of IEDs and weapons were operating at a targeted location in Mosul.

Coalition Forces approaching the targeted area by helicopter received enemy fire from several vehicles. Coalition Forces returned fire from the helicopter, killing five terrorists.

Coalition Forces continued their mission and searched the targeted buildings and found a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, RPG rounds, and assault weapon magazines. They destroyed the weapons cache on the site to prevent further use by terrorists.

After clearing the targeted buildings, ground forces began receiving sniper and machine gun fire from another building. Ground forces returned fire killing two terrorists.

Today, four suspected terrorists with alleged ties to IED attacks were captured in an operation northeast of Karmah. Two more suspects were captured southeast of Al Qa’im in an operation targeting an al-Qaeda in Iraq associated weapons dealer.

“Coalition Forces will continue to successfully kill or capture al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists regardless of where they may hide or operate,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.

Air strike destroys building used to build IEDs

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A Coalition Forces air strike destroyed a building housing a large cache of materials used to build roadside bombs in Mosul Monday evening.

Intelligence reports stated terrorists were accumulating weapons and were believed to have knowledge of suppliers and producers of improvised explosive devices in the Mosul area.

Upon arrival at the targeted building, two individuals pulled weapons on the ground force. Ground forces took proper self-defense measures and killed the individuals.

While searching the targeted building, ground forces discovered an underground room that was being used to store large amounts of IED-making materials, including approximately 50 IEDs, 200 bags of fertilizer, blasting caps and multiple grenades.

Coalition Forces called in for air support to destroy the building to prevent the IED-related material from being used against Iraqi citizens, Iraqi military and Coalition Forces in the future.

“Considering the amount of human suffering and damage inflicted by VBIEDs, it is always significant when we are able to eliminate or detain terrorists involved in these attacks,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.

Troops team up to clear Sadr City
Tuesday, 06 March 2007

"During operations [Sunday], local residents were receptive and cooperative with Coalition and Iraqi forces," Lt. Col. Scott R. Bleichwehl, Multi-national Division-Baghdad spokesman, said. "The operation is designed to set secure conditions for the citizens of Sadr City."

Bleichwehl said no weapons caches were reported or suspects detained. He added there were no incidents of violence, and no casualties to the Coalition force, Iraqi Security Force or civilians.

Meanwhile, operations in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq, over the last few days, have resulted in numerous terrorists being killed or detained and the discovery of hostages.

A Coalition assessment following an air strike in Arab Jabour Sunday led to the rescue of four Iraqi citizens and the uncovering of a terrorist weapons cache.

Four Iraqi citizens were liberated from a building near the site of Saturday’s air strike, officials said. One of the hostages told military officials the terrorists holding them fled immediately after the air strike.

All four hostages were treated at the scene for various injuries. One of the hostages said he had been held captive for 50 days.

At the site of the air strike, ground forces also found remnants of an anti-aircraft heavy machine gun known as a DShK, as well as rocket-propelled grenades and grenade launchers. A DShK tripod was found dug into the ground along the Tigris River, along with spent ammunition cartridges.

Coalition force members called in the air strike Saturday after they began receiving small-arms fire from several armed men across the Tigris River and were unable to safely subdue enemy fire.

Two precision-guided bombs destroyed a small structure and killed seven terrorists hiding inside.

A large secondary explosion was noted after the initial bombs were dropped on the target, officials said, indicating the presence of explosive material within the structure.

Elsewhere, Soldiers from Task Force 1-319 and the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, detained more than 50 insurgents during three days of operations focused on terrorist cells in Abu Ajeel, Wynot, and Owja near Tikrit in Salah ad Din.

Paratroopers from Task Force Loyalty’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Abn. Div., detained more than 40 personnel in the Abu Ajeel area with assistance from an Iraqi emergency services unit and the Iraqi Army.

The operation disrupted a roadside-bomb cell that has been operating in the area as well as detaining an insurgent cell leader who has been spearheading attacks against Coalition and Iraqi security forces in recent months, officials said.

Soldiers from Task Force Loyalty's Battery B detained more than 10 insurgents involved with financing and executing attacks on Coalition forces in the towns of Wynot and Owja. During the raids, members of Battery B engaged numerous insurgents, killing three who were poised to conduct a roadside ambush on Coalition forces during the operation.

I blogged about Sadr City in a post earlier this week.

24 suspected terrorists captured throughout Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained 24 suspected terrorists during raids Wednesday morning targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq networks.

Ground forces detained eight suspected terrorists during a raid in South Baghdad when they targeted a group reported to be involved in the coordination, movement and emplacement of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices used against Iraqi and Coalition Forces.

During a raid in Rutbah, Coalition Forces detained five suspected terrorists while targeting a suspected weapons dealer who is known for providing IED–making material and is also believed to be involved in foreign fighter facilitation.Coalition Forces also detained two suspected terrorists in Samarra. Intelligence reports indicate terrorists in the targeted area are involved in weapons trafficking and the acquisition of identity cards and passports.

Northeast of Karmah, Coalition Forces detained nine suspected terrorists with alleged ties to senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leadership.

“Coalition Forces operations continue to systematically dismantle the al-Qaeda in Iraq network,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. “The al-Qaeda in Iraq network is contrary to the peace and stability Iraqi citizens deserve.”

And finally, the US Military is saying what I have been saying for weeks:

Baghdad security efforts seem to yield results
BAGHDAD — Although it’s too early to draw firm conclusions, the new combined Iraqi-U.S. security effort to reduce violence in Iraq’s capital city already seems to be bearing fruit, a senior U.S. military officer in Baghdad said.

Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, talked with a group of Internet journalists and bloggers during a telephone conference call.

Caldwell said that there has been an increase of citizen-provided tips to Iraqi and coalition authorities in the three weeks since Operation Law and Order kicked off. These tips have been used to find several insurgent bomb-making sites and weapons caches in the Baghdad area.

Despite renewed suicide-bomber attacks on religious pilgrims, like the one in Karbala yesterday that killed more than 100 people, Sunnis and Shiites living together in Baghdad’s mixed neighborhoods are demonstrating restraint in not escalating the violence, Caldwell said.

Another positive sign is that more people are staying put, the general said. “We’re very encouraged over these last two or three weeks and seeing people not moving out (of Baghdad), not changing homes,” he said.

Part of Baghdad residents’ determination to stay the course is likely due to a more proactive security stance adopted by U.S. and Iraqi forces, Caldwell said. American troops and Iraqi soldiers and police have been establishing 10 security districts across Baghdad to institute an around-the-clock presence to deter insurgent violence.

The strategy of establishing dozens of joint Iraqi-U.S. security posts across Baghdad appears to be working, Caldwell said. Original plans called for setting up 35 or 40 such outposts, he said, but now it appears there’ll be nearly twice that number.

“We’re now looking at 70 of them,” Caldwell said. Although U.S. troops and Iraqi soldiers and police may be increasing their exposure by operating from such outposts, he said, this blanketing-of-forces strategy actually decreases the overall risk.

Officials believe that placing high-visibility outposts in Baghdad’s neighborhoods will serve to assuage citizens’ security concerns while deterring insurgent activity, Caldwell said. This is a change from the U.S. maintaining large compounds of troops that were relatively isolated from surrounding Iraqi communities.

To be successful in prosecuting counterinsurgency operations, “you have to protect the people,” Caldwell said.

“We are finding, at least here (in Baghdad), in the initial couple of weeks, that there is much greater protection being provided to them by (instituting) a greater, enduring presence out in the city than there was going back and forth from large operating bases,” Caldwell said.

Iraqi residents of the Sadr City section of Baghdad, a formerly violent part of the municipality, are being non-confrontational and cooperative as U.S. and Iraqi forces move in, Caldwell said.

Earlier this year, President Bush directed the deployment of more than 21,500 additional U.S. soldiers and Marines to Baghdad and restive areas of western Iraq. However, the Iraqis are taking the lead for the operation, Caldwell said, noting that Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar is directing both U.S. and Iraqi security forces from his Baghdad headquarters, which was activated March 1.

Two of the five additional U.S. brigades involved in the force plus-up have arrived in Iraq, Caldwell said. The third brigade is now in Kuwait awaiting deployment into Iraq. And, seven of a projected nine Iraqi battalions involved in the surge are now in Baghdad, he said.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the new Multinational Force Iraq commander, has been busy visiting U.S. and Iraqi commanders and troops across Iraq in recent weeks, Caldwell said. Petraeus will hold his first news conference as MNFI commander tomorrow.

Petraeus will emphasize that pacification of Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, while difficult, “is doable,” Caldwell predicted, cautioning that this will take some time to accomplish. He added that insurgents are likely to continue their resistance against Iraq’s unity government.

Caldwell said Iraqi soldiers and police are stepping up to assume security planning and operational responsibilities as never before.

“There are truly a lot of very positive steps being taken forward as they continue to develop their capabilities to command and control their organization,” he said.

How many of these stories did you see repeated in the NYTs? How many of these stories were repeated on the AP wires? It's funny, when I read the news from Iraq, the press never seems to miss a story that involves the death of a US serviceman or a class full of Iraqi children. Kinda makes you wonder when the press carries the water for the terrorists, writing in detail about all the terrorist's gory "successes," but the same news organizations refuse to carry the water for our US troops.

The press has been telling only one side of the story, ostensibly reporting the terrorist's propaganda for them. This serves to embolden the enemy and help fill their ranks because THEY THINK THEY ARE WINNING. This also serves to discourage the us populace and diminish their support for the war effort because THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THINK WE ARE LOSING.

The danger of telling only one side of the story is clear. The press has a choice to carry the water for the US government, to carry the water for the terrorists, or to report both sides evenly. Unfortunately, it is crystal clear which side the press is on.