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`Spartan Scorpion' raids uncover explosives, ammo in Fallujah

Army News Service

Release Date: 6/24/2003

By Spc. Mason T. Lowery and Sgt. Craig Zentkovich June 24, 2003

AL FALLUJAH, Iraq (Army News Service, June 24, 2003) - Four 3rd Infantry Division task forces conducted raids in and around Al Fallujah as part of "Operation Spartan Scorpion" in the pre-dawn hours of June 15 and 16.

Soldiers captured nine suspects, explosive devices, bomb-making material and documents during the early-morning raids in Fallujah June 15. When a patrol came under fire the next morning in the nearby town of Habbinyah, raids on six houses there enabled soldiers to confiscate crates of ammunition and some C-4 explosive.

Spartan Scorpion was 2nd Brigade Combat Team's part in nationwide raids designed to remove all remaining Ba'ath Party, non-compliant forces and paramilitary forces throughout Iraq, according to 2nd BCT Battle Capt. Matt Morgan. He said the raids were the culmination of 2nd BCT's military and humanitarian work since arriving in Fallujah two weeks earlier.

"Spartan Scorpion isn't only focused on conventional military operations. The most important thing we did were the civil-military projects we conducted to continue to establish rapport with the locals," Morgan said.

Humanitarian projects enable the people of Fallujah to "see us as more than just security forces," said 2nd BCT Operations Officer Maj. Rick Nussio.

Ongoing humanitarian assistance in Fallujah includes repairing area hospitals and clinics, and delivering medical supplies to those facilities. Soldiers also repaired schools and delivered school supplies, repaired soccer fields and gave away hundreds of soccer balls. (Soccer is Iraq's number one sport.) Thousands of gallons of gas were given away, and soldiers participated in cleaning up trash in the city.

The key to success in Fallujah is to win the hearts and minds of the people, said 2nd BCT Commander Col. David G. Perkins.

"The idea (of Spartan Scorpion) was to execute attacks against selected targets while minimizing damage to locals," Nussio said.

The early-morning raids made it possible to capture the suspects and weapons without disrupting civilians' daily lives, according to Nussio. As the soldiers finished the raids and the sun came up, Fallujah residents drove past them to go to work.

"The psychological impact of the coalition's continuing operations causes cells to disrupt patterns," Nussio said.

The Spartan Scorpion raids were executed in three phases. Phase one consisted of three days of preparation and reconnaissance gathered from patrols and civilian tips. First Battalion, 9th Field Artillery based its raid objective on where soldiers were shot at the most, according to Morgan.

Phase two was the early-morning raids. There were four objectives in and around the city. Soldiers from B Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry, closed in on a suspected Fedayeen training facility, while A Co. soldiers raided a possible Fedayeen headquarters building. Task Force Enforcer, made up of the 211th Military Police Company, descended on a safe house believed to house three resistance leaders. Soldiers from 1-9 FA probed a possible weapons cache.

The third phase was the continuing humanitarian aid. Many aid projects were scheduled to finish the morning after the raids, to signify Spartan soldiers' commitment to not only conducting military operations, but also helping and showing Fallujah residents they are in there to help them, explained Morgan.

"After we finished our military operations, we went in and fixed up five schools and soccer fields to help them re-establish normalcy," Morgan said.

Spartan leaders have been talking with officials in Fallujah since they arrived.

"Spartan Scorpion was a decisive point for us turning the tide in this town. We set the conditions for a week prior, talking to the mayor and Sheiks, listening to them and finding out what they need," Morgan said of the progress Spartans are making in Fallujah. "It's been a week since we've been shot at downtown, which is significant since they were trying to kill us before that."

The next morning, scouts from 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment were conducting presence patrols on the streets of Habbinyah, a town northwest of Fallujah, when they received fire from eight Iraqi militants.

"We received intelligence on the two houses where the firing had originated," said Lt. Col. John A. Hammond, 211th Military Police Battalion and TF Enforcer commander.

The task force consisted of teams from 211th Military Police Battalion, 155th Military Police Company and 1-64 Armor with a platoon from A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment attached.

"At approximately 6 a.m. (TF Enforcer) conducted simultaneous raids on the two residences."

Ammunition was found buried in the yards of both houses. Ammunition crates were found in the first home while a stick of C-4 explosive was found in the second.

"I could tell the father of the young man (in the second home) was visibly upset and had no knowledge of his son's activities," Hammond said. "Even after we apprehended the son, his father continued to verbally lynch him."

By using 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment's air reconnaissance assets, Kiowa Warriors found multiple targets - ammunition crates in the yards and on the roofs of area houses. Under the guidance and direction of the aircraft, the soldiers entered another home.

"We found 30-40 (ammunition) crates at the property," Hammond said. "Five of them were loaded with explosive material."

Simultaneously, 70 Iraqi tank heat rounds were seized from another home. Five of the stolen rounds had been disassembled, with the explosive removed.

The next home searched proved an interesting affair, according to Hammond

"We went into the home to search the containers that were observed from the sky," he said. "A teenage boy living there fled the scene and was quickly apprehended."

An ammunition crate found on the roof of the house contained propellant material, a folding stock AK-47 rifle, a flare gun and an RPG site, as well as a camouflage jacket, sleeping bag, ninja knife and Bruce Lee poster.

"I think the boy was a little confused," Hammond said.

The raid on the final home didn't immediately produce any contraband.

"When we entered the house, the owner kept telling us he had nothing and that the house was clean," Hammond said. "Not a minute after we began questioning him, a soldier came into the house with high explosive materials and blasting caps. Apparently, as we entered the house, he tossed these items over the wall in his yard."

Hammond added with a smile, "They landed right in front of a soldier securing the area."

Overall, nine men were apprehended during the June 23 raids.

"These raids allow us to take the initiative away from the enemy," Hammond said. "We choose the times we engage now."

"We've seen very positive results in the past two weeks," said Capt. Matt Morgan, 2nd BCT battle captain. "We have a good rapport with the mayor of Fallujah, and the citizens are responding well to our security presence in the area as well as community and area improvement programs."

(Editor's note: Spc. Mason T. Lowery and Sgt. Craig Zentkovich are both members of the 50th Public Affairs Detachment.)