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CENTCOM Report, June 20: Iraq Update

20 June 2005

Iraqi, U.S. forces focus on rooting out foreign fighters

Iraqi security forces have been working alongside U.S. counterparts to carry out two major anti-insurgency operations.

“Operation Spear,” which was launched in the al-Anbar province in mid-June, is designed to root out non-Iraqi insurgents and the weapons that they are using to fuel the anti-coalition conflict.  More than 1,000 Iraqi and U.S. forces have been hunting for foreign insurgents, including those from Sudan and Saudi Arabia, who have been passing through Iraq’s porous borders, according to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

Fighting in and around the city of Karabilah near the Syrian border resulted in the discovery and release of four Iraqi hostages who had been beaten and chained in a bunker in the center of town for almost a month, according to the Multi-National Force-Iraq.  The same bunker, and other sites, yielded the components and training manuals used for setting off the improvised explosives that recently have been so deadly in urban areas, including Irbil on June 20.  A reported car-bomb factory was also put out of commission permanently.

U.S. and British air strikes have been called in to support the ground operation.  There have been conflicting reports about the number of insurgents that have been killed in the overall operation so far, with estimates ranging from a dozen to around 100.  Dust storms reportedly hampered the speed with which commanders had hoped to complete the military sweep.

Another effort, dubbed “Operation Dagger,” is under way in the same province in the Tharthar Lake region.  This operation, in an area 85 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, seeks to eliminate insurgents’ sanctuaries and weapons caches.

Separately, insurgent sweeps are also under way in the Mosul area.

Meanwhile, in the capital, Task Force Baghdad has been focused on ferreting out and removing resources needed for roadside bombs.  On June 20, U.S. soldiers reported apprehending 23 individuals suspected of causing violence and some of the weapons associated with recent casualties among Iraq’s civil population and security forces.

A significant amount of equipment used to make bombs or to detonate them remotely has been uncovered in the capital, as well as ammunition, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and grenades.

The Iraqi government has offered a $10 million reward for the capture of Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, who served as deputy commander of Iraqi armed forces in the former regime.  The former Ba’ath Party leader is also listed as Number 6 on the U.S. military’s list of 55 most wanted civilian and military leaders of the former regime. (See also related information on the Department of Defense Web site).

CNN reports that the U.S. military had offered a similar reward for the capture of al-Duri in November 2003.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)