06 May 2003
Coalition Forces in Iraq Continue to Be Targets of Hostile Fire
(Meanwhile, humanitarian efforts aid country's recovery) (1260) Five shooting incidents occurred in Iraq from May 4-6, according to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). One soldier was wounded during these encounters. Losses to attacking forces were unknown, CENTCOM said. The attacks -- which targeted U.S. forces -- included a May 4 incident where an unknown assailant fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a helicopter near Fallujah. Two other incidents occurred May 5, and two more May 6. COALITION EFFORTS INVOLVED IN IRAQ'S RECOVERY U.S. and coalition forces continue efforts to help Iraq recover, according to CENTCOM. Electrical power in Baghdad has been partially restored, and the goal is to complete the system restoration before the onset of summer peak load time. In other actions, the British 1st Armored Division ---assisting the World Food Program delivered 14,000 tons of rice to Umm Qasr. CENTCOM also noted that U.S. Marines are involved in a wide range of measures to assist with the reestablishment of a safe and secure environment. The marines are helping to reorganize and pay local police forces, conducting joint patrols with Iraqi police, cleaning up and restoring police sub-stations to prepare them for use, and assessing Iraqi towns to ensure safe entry of humanitarian aid operations. Marines are also making arrangements to coordinate regular service at propane refilling stations. Furthermore, at least 16 governmental and non-governmental humanitarian organizations, are now operating in Iraq, --supplementing humanitarian efforts by the governments of Spain and Japan-- CENTCOM states. Concerning enemy prisoners of war, CENTCOM says more than 6,600 have been paroled and released, while about 2,400 remain in detention. Following are the texts of the CENTCOM announcements: (begin text) UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND May 6, 2003 COALITION FORCES CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SECURITY AND STABILITY CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar -- Coalition forces continue to focus military operations on conducting security patrols, humanitarian assistance missions, facility assessments and securing sensitive sites in key Iraqi cities. An individual with a rifle fired numerous times early this morning [May 6] at an observation post manned by U.S. 3rd Infantry Division soldiers near the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance headquarters in Baghdad. The sentry fired back but was unable to determine if the assailant was hit. No soldiers were injured. A convoy from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment was fired at with small arms early this morning [May 6] as they approached an overturned vehicle. They returned fire and took an alternate route back to base. No soldiers were injured. Three Iraqis armed with AK-47s and grenades fired on 3rd Infantry Division soldiers who were investigating a reported fire in downtown Baghdad May 5th. The soldiers returned fire and the Iraqis fled the scene. One soldier was wounded in the right knee from an enemy round. United States Army military policemen were fired upon by individuals traveling in two civilian vehicles near An Nasiriyah May 5th. The soldiers returned fire at the subjects, who fled. They were pursued but not caught. The soldiers sustained no casualties. An unidentified individual fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment OH-58D armored reconnaissance helicopter near Fallujah on the evening of May 4. The aircraft was not hit and there were no injuries. Despite the danger, Coalition forces remain dedicated to providing a secure and stable environment throughout Iraq, so that the delivery of humanitarian aid and infrastructure repair can continue. (end text) (begin text) UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND May 6, 2003 COALITION EFFORTS AID IRAQ'S RECOVERY AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar -- Coalition forces continue to assist in developing a safer, more secure environment in Iraq. Among recent developments: -- Iraqi and U.S. military engineers have made the majority of the 132-kilovolt systems in Baghdad operable and now are focusing on the 400-kilovolt 'Super Grid' system to have the majority of it working prior to the peak summer load time. -- Marine Corps Civil Affairs personnel coordinated the payment of the Ar Rumaythah police as well as coordinating the delivery of food and supplies to alleviate shortages in the city of Ad Diwaniyah. -- The 1st United Kingdom Armored Division coordinated the delivery of 14,000 metric tons of World Food Program-donated rice to Umm Qasr. -- Security and stability in southern Iraq has enabled many governmental, non-governmental and private relief organizations to begin work there. These organizations include, but are not limited to: Ockenden International, Dan Church Aid, Mine Action Team, World Food Program, Amnesty International, Star of Hope, International Committee of the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Development Program, Lee & Associates Rescue Equipment, Inc., United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Knowledge Discovery & Data mining, Lima Petroleum Services, Bechtel Corporation, and the governments of Japan and Spain. -- The 1st Marine Division completed assessments of Al Hillah, As Samawah, Ad Diwaniyah, An Najaf, Karbala, and Al Kufah. Additionally, USAID and their Disaster Assistance Response Teams also assessed these towns as permissive. Both assessments concluded that the areas are reasonably safe to conduct the needed humanitarian assistance projects along with the help of desiring agencies. -- The United Nations Security Coordinator is beginning to conduct assessments in designated areas of Iraq. -- The Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance is starting operations in Al Hillah. -- The Iraqi Refugee Aid Counsel continues to deliver humanitarian assistance in An Najaf and Karbala. -- Marines from the 1st Marine Division have been conducting joint patrols with the local police in several cities to maintain the peace. -- In Al Hillah May 4, Marines began cleaning and renovating police sub-stations throughout the city. They anticipate being able to operate out of the sub-stations by May 7. -- In As Samawah, Marines of the 5th Regiment and Iraqi civilian police conducted four joint Iraqi-Marine patrols and manned five joint traffic control points. -- Marines in Ad Diwaniyah assisted in the reorganization of the local police force with an emphasis on retaining quality personnel over the quantity of officers. The Marines hired 277 regular and traffic police officers and continued joint patrols. -- Marines in An Najaf are working closely with the police chief and the mayor of the city in the implementation of a new training plan for the local police department. The 7th Marine Regiment paid most of the police force in An Najaf yesterday. They are also focusing on developing a program of police training with the intent of increasing the professionalism of the Iraqi police there. -- The Karbala police department will be receiving weapons from the Marines to assist in law enforcement once the details of their training program are finalized. -- Task Force Tarawa continues to make strides in south-central Iraq and has coordinated a regular propane refilling scheduled to begin soon. -- Substation repairs continue and the international humanitarian organization known as GOAL has delivered five tons of medical supplies and continues re-stocking of hospitals. -- Among the relief agencies involved in the area are: GOAL, USAID, DART, International Medical Corps, World Health Organization, Operation Mercy, Refugees International, UNICEF, Star of Hope and the Kuwait Red Crescent. -- Two hundred and twenty eight Iraqi soldiers captured during Operation Iraqi Freedom were released after accepting parole. -- Three thousand, four hundred and twenty-six Iraqi soldiers captured during OIF have been paroled to date. -- Additionally, 3,217 Iraqi soldiers have been released after determining they were noncombatants. -- Currently, approximately 2,400 enemy prisoners of war are being detained by the Coalition. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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