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Current Operations

• THREE MARINES KILLED IN ACTION
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• 1st First Infantry Division Soldiers Detain Three in Bayji Raid MNFI-MNC-I 24 Dec 2004 -- First Infantry Division Soldiers captured three suspected anti-Iraqi force cell members during raids conducted in Bayji at about 11:30 p.m., December 23.
• Multi-National Forces Disrupt Terrorist Attempts, Detain 38 MNFI-MNC-I 24 Dec 2004 -- Multi-National Forces from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) prevented a potential car bomb attack and detained 38 suspects in separate operations over the past 24 hours.
• 1st FOB Marez update: Disposition of Wounded MNFI-MNC-I 24 Dec 2004 -- The following is a breakout of affiliations and locations where 76 wounded service members and civilians were transferred to after the attack at Forward Operating Base Marez near Mosul.
• IRAQIS, US FORCES SUPPORT RESIDENTS' RETURN TO FALLUJAH CENTCOM 24 Dec 2004 -- More than 900 residents returned to their homes in the Al Andalus district of the city under the supervision of Iraqi and US forces on Dec. 23.
• INSURGENTS TARGET CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVILIANS IN RAMADI CENTCOM 24 Dec 2004 -- Elements of the 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force responded to attacks by insurgents against the city's local government and civilians here, which may be part of a broader intimidation campaign by the insurgency in advance of the upcoming elections that are slated to occur January 30, 2005.
• Tanks provide BLT 1/2 with powerful punch USMC News 24 Dec 2004 -- Working alongside every company in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Battalion Landing Team, the Marines of Tanks Platoon, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, have maintained a non-stop operational pace since their arrival here in July.
• Ordnance Disposal Complete on Al Asad USMC News 24 Dec 2004 -- The destruction of almost 5,500 tons of weapons, munitions, and explosives held at Al Asad was completed Dec. 18.

• COALITION FORCES RECOVER WEAPONS CACHES CENTCOM 24 Dec 2004 -- Coalition forces recovered five weapons caches on Thursday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• BUSH / MILITARY VOA 24 Dec 2004 -- President Bush telephoned men and women serving in the U.S. military on Christmas Eve. White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, the president and Mrs. Bush are spending Christmas at the presidential retreat at Camp David.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• COTE D IVOIRE: 18 reported killed in ethnic clashes in southern cocoa belt IRIN 24 Dec 2004 -- Eighteen people were reported killed this week in a fresh outbreak of violence between villagers from President Laurent Gbagbo's Bete ethnic group and settlers from other parts of Cote d'Ivoire and West Africa near the southern town of Gagnoa.
• FRANCE / IVORY COAST VOA 24 Dec 2004 -- The head of France's armed forces says he backs mediation efforts by South African President Thabo Mbeki in divided Ivory Coast. He also says French forces will remain until the international community deems this necessary.
• NEPAL / REBEL BLOCKADE VOA 24 Dec 2004 -- Nepal, a Maoist guerrilla blockade has shut down major highways leading into the capital Kathmandu. Residents are stockpiling food to brace for the impact after a week of rebel violence has left a hundred people dead.
• SUDAN/AU-DARFUR VOA 24 Dec 2004 -- African Union troops stationed in the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan are increasingly coming under heavy criticism from aid agencies and even rebel groups, who say few numbers and a limited mandate make the troops virtually ineffective in abating the conflict.
• THAILAND SOUTHERN VIOLENCE VOA 24 Dec 2004 -- One person has been killed and at least six wounded in an explosion in southern Thailand today (Friday).It is the latest of almost daily attacks in the south that have killed more than five hundred people in the past year.

News Reports

• UKRAINE RE-RUN ADVANCER VOA 24 Dec 2004 -- Millions of Ukrainians will head to the polls Sunday for the third time in as many months to elect a new president to replace outgoing President Leonid Kuchma. Ukraine's Supreme Court ordered the re-run after more than two weeks of massive opposition street protests that, at one point, threatened to split the nation in half.