Iraqi troops flush Samarra of insurgents

Iraqi troops flush Samarra of insurgents, weapons By U.S. Army Sgt. Matt Murphy, MNSTC-I PAO

SAMARRA, Iraq – In the first three days of an anti-insurgent operation, Iraqi Security Forces have netted 54 suspected insurgents, several vehicles, a weapons cache with 37 large mortar and artillery rounds, and an assortment of rifles and rocket launchers.

Sanctioned by the Ministry of Interior, the operation began March 4 with more than 1,500 Iraqi Security Forces personnel executing missions under the leadership of Gen. Adnan Thabit, security adviser to the ministry. A police commando brigade, two police commando battalions, a public order battalion, and local police make up the security forces contingency.

It’s MOI’s largest anti-insurgent operation since the battle for Fallujah in November 2004, officials said, and is completely led and executed by Iraqi leaders and troops. A small contingent of U.S. military personnel is there as advisers and observers. Police trainers with the U.S. Department of Defense are also there, watching from the rear as the police commandos sweep the city and surrounding villages.

Several previous missions in Samarra, which has a reputation for being a safe-haven for insurgents, only pushed them to outlying areas and they eventually returned, officials said.

“Samarra is the contact point between north and the south of Iraq,” said Adnan. “It is also the backyard of Fallujah. The civilians here are satisfied with operation and now feel more secure.” Adnan said.

Adnan’s presence in the city with the security forces has prompted nonstop telephone calls to his ministry office from citizens who are either expressing appreciation or offering information about other insurgent activities and locations, officials said.

A former Samarra resident, Adnan knows the city and the surrounding area well. With the support of police commando leaders, Adnan laid out a plan for the operation that called for a citywide curfew, have the security forces surround the city and flush the insurgents out. While several Iraqi security forces teams searched house-to-house in the inner city, other teams hit the villages in a staggered pattern and found several insurgents who are named on a target list.

Col. Jalil of the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade Baghdad Police Commandos led the village operations. They set up traffic checkpoints, where his troops apprehended suspects with two rocket-propelled grenade launchers in the trunk of their vehicle. They also confiscated a truck carrying a box of rocket-propelled grenades, small arms, and items commonly used to make improvised explosive devices, like detonation cable.

One of Adnan’s teams captured suspects that led them to a small weapons cache consisting of 23 120mm mortar rounds and 13 155mm mortar rounds. Police commandos cleared the area so that a U.S. explosives team could destroy the rounds.

“I am very proud of the commandos and honored by the way these men do their jobs,” Jalil said upon learning of the successful sweeps and the capture of the targeted suspect.

The targeted suspect, believed to be a sniper who shot at the commandos was taken to a detention center for processing, where Iraqi security forces fed the captured suspects.

No deaths or injuries among the Iraqi security forces have been reported. The operation is continuing, officials said.

For more information, please visit mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil/. -30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 6, 2005 Contact: Capt. Steven Alvarez IRAQNA Cell: 011-964-0790-191-0615E-mail: alvarezsj@mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil