Your Soldiers are keeping the pressure on al-Qaeda in Iraq, chasing them out of Baghdad and into the Bread Basket.
ZAHMM, Iraq, Jan. 8 — The U.S. military launched a major offensive early Tuesday against one of the largest known redoubts of al-Qaeda in Iraq, part of a new nationwide campaign to destroy remaining pockets of the Sunni insurgency.
The unusually large attack by 5,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops in volatile Diyala province reflects growing concern that success in rooting the group out of Baghdad and Anbar province to the west has driven its members to northern areas such as the Diyala River Valley and the city of Mosul.
U.S. officials said an estimated 200 fighters from al-Qaeda in Iraq created a mini-state here in what Americans call the Bread Basket, a 50-square-mile, shoe-shaped region northeast of Baghdad that stretches from the northern Diyala River to a parallel canal to the east. Residents said the fighters, whom some described as foreigners, imposed curfews and strict interpretations of sharia, or Islamic law.
The U.S. troop buildup that began last year and success in fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq elsewhere in the country have, for the first time in two years, freed up enough troops to wage a full-scale assault and establish a continued presence in this area, U.S. commanders said. They said the Iraqi military is sending up to a full battalion from Anbar in the coming days to help hold the territory.
And the Iraqi citizens are helping…
More casualties were likely avoided because of tips from villagers, who identified explosives left by the insurgents. One man helped U.S. soldiers find and detonate a car bomb in Zahmm, which filled the night sky with dark smoke for hours. The man was promised a $100 reward.
Villagers encountered on Tuesday told the Americans of mistreatment by the Sunni insurgents. In one town, locals said al-Qaeda in Iraq imposed curfews from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day.
“Al-Qaeda said, ‘You must all work for us now,’ ” Sgt. Patrick Martin of Saratoga, N.Y., recalled villagers telling him.
American, Coalition, and Iraqi forces continue to set conditions for stabilization and the citizens are showing signs of hope for a brighter future and faith in their leaders while al-Qaeda remains on the run. Sgt Hook out.
Posted by Hook @ 0814 zulu | | Permalink
This post is filed under: Army Times & GWOT & Iraq
