Good News From Iraq

Release A060610c
3 caches discovered
KIRKUK, Iraq – Bastogne Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division and members of the Iraqi Security Forces discovered three weapons caches in the areas surrounding Kirkuk , Iraq on June 7.

Soldiers from the 1st Brigades 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment received a report from Iraqi police in the village of Laylan of three men in a black Opel hiding a mortar system in a culvert on the side of a road outside the northern city of Kirkuk . The police secured the cache, consisting of the mortar system and four rounds, until a demolition team arrived on-site to dispose of the material. The men stashing the system escaped before the police arrived at the scene.

In two similar incidents, two bags filled with rockets were discovered southwest of Kirkuk after a local resident provided information of the cache to the Iraqi Army, and yet a third cache, consisting of 12 mortar rounds and an artillery round, was discovered northwest of the city.

Local citizens, growing confident in the capability of their own security forces, continue to come forward with information on the whereabouts of weapons caches, as well as terrorists in the region.

Al-Zarqawi dead; Iraqi government steps forward
BAGHDAD (June 9, 2006) – Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Multi-National Force-Iraq Commanding General, announced the death of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad June 8.

“Coalition Forces killed al-Qaida terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, yesterday, June 7, at 6:15 p.m. in an air strike against an identified, isolated safe house,” said Gen. Casey.

The general said that tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi and some of his associates who were conducting a meeting approximately eight kilometers north of Baqubah when the air strike was launched.

This pic from: http://saberpoint.blogspot.com

According to U.S. Air Force officials, two F-16Cs dropped two precision-guided 500-pound bombs, a GBU-12 laser-guided bomb and a GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, destroying the terrorist safe house where Al Zarqawi and other terrorists were meeting.

General Casey said following the strike, Iraqi police were first on the scene, and elements of Multi-National Division-North arrived shortly thereafter. He said Coalition forces were able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars.

“Al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida in Iraq have conducted terrorist activities against the Iraqi people for years in attempts to undermine the Iraqi national government and Coalition efforts to rebuild and stabilize Iraq,” added Gen. Casey. “He is known to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis. Al-Zarqawi’s death is a significant blow to al-Qaida and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq.”

The general said although the designated leader of al-Qaida in Iraq is now dead, the terrorist organization still poses a threat as its members will continue to try to terrorize the Iraqi people and destabilize their government as it moves toward stability and prosperity.

However, he added, “Iraqi forces, supported by the Coalition, will continue to hunt terrorists that threaten the Iraqi people until terrorism is eradicated in Iraq.”

Following General Casey’s announcement, Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell, MNF-I spokesman, described the events that led to the death of al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq.

“Today is a great day in Iraq,” said Caldwell. “Congratulations go out to everyone … the efforts of both the Iraqi security forces and the Coalition forces have resulted in the elimination of a major threat to the stability, the security and the prosperity of the Iraqi people now and in the future. Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi is dead, no longer able to terrorize innocent Iraqi civilians.”

The general said the success of the operation was the product of “painstaking intelligence-gathering” -- from local sources and from within Zarqawi's network; intelligence, he said, “that was made possible both by the Iraqis who have made the determination to uphold the legitimate authority of their own nation and the slow, deliberate exploitation of leads and opportunities, person-to-person, through evidence since December of 2003. The elimination of Zarqawi has dealt a serious blow to al-Qaida in Iraq.”

Maj. Gen. Caldwell added that although Zarqawi's capture is reason to rejoice, the Coalition is cautious not to be overly optimistic. Because, as the general said, “one man's life does not signify an end to an insurgency.”

Iraqi Prime Minitser Nouri Al-Maliki also spoke of Zarqawi’s death.

"Today Zarqawi has been killed,” Prime Minister Al-Maliki said. “What happened today is the outcome of the fruitful cooperation of Iraqi people to provide information and facilitate the operation to the [Iraqi police] and the [multi-national force]. This is a letter to all those who take killing and destruction as their work, to stop and look at themselves, and come back to their senses before it is too late. We have decided and we will go on, God willing, to face killers and terrorists."

As Coalition and Iraqi leaders announced Zarqawi’s death, the Iraq government also took a giant step forward.

In a statement June 8, Prime Minister Al-Maliki, submitted, and the Council of Representatives confirmed, the ministries for Defense, Interior and National Security.

“Today, Iraq takes a giant step forward -- closer to peace within, closer to unity throughout, and closer to a world without terror,” Prime Minister Al-Maliki said.

Abdul Qadir Muhammed Jasim, a Sunni Arab, was confirmed as the new Minister of Defense, while Jawad al-Bolani, a Shiite, was confirmed for the Minister of Interior, and the position of state minister of national security was put in the hands of Sherwan al-Waily, also a Shiite.

(Compiled from Defense Department and Iraqi government sources)

Release A060611a
Marines provide medical assistance to two Iraqi children wounded by IED
AL ASAD, Iraq – U.S. Marines and Iraqi Soldiers operating in western al Anbar province, Iraq , expedited the medical evacuation of two Iraqi boys who sustained wounds from an improvised explosive device June 9.

The Marines were manning a traffic control point on a road approximately two kilometers east of Ar Rutbah when the boys' uncle approached the Marines and requested medical assistance for his wounded nephews.

The uncle stated the two boys were watching sheep approximately seven kilometers north of Ar Rutbah when the IED exploded, wounding the children.

Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Marines rendered first aid and coordinated the medical evacuation of the two boys to a nearby U.S. military medical facility. They were assessed by U.S. military medical personnel to be in stable condition and transported to a U.S. military hospital in Balad for further treatment.

The Marines who operate in Ar Rutbah are part of the Twenty-nine Palms, California-based 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 7. The unit arrived in Iraq in March.

** And from Afganistan, its a case of Jihad denied!

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Coalition Forces engaged over 60 insurgents June 5 in western Arghandab District of Zabul Province.

A joint Afghan National Army and Canadian force engaged with enemy forces into the evening, inflicting significant casualties on the extremists. Joint fires were employed, forcing remaining enemies to flee.

Enemy casualties were estimated to be more than 30 killed in the action. There were no ANA or Coalition casualties.

**Lastly thanks to these three who took it upon themselves to make the world a better place by removing themselves from it: (do they get a Darwin award for that?)

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2006 – Three detainees at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, died of apparent suicides early this morning, military officials reported today.

Two Saudis and one Yemeni, all located in Camp 1 of the detention center, were found unresponsive and not breathing in their cells, Navy Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris, commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, said in a news conference. The first detainee was found shortly after midnight, and the other detainees were found within minutes, Harris said.

Medical teams responded quickly and all three detainees were provided immediate emergency medical treatment in attempts to revive them, Harris said. The three detainees were pronounced dead by a physician after all lifesaving measures had been exhausted, he said.

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