07 July 2006
Iraqi Army Runs Successful Operation to Capture Wanted Insurgent
Iraqi security forces ready to assume full control of Muthanna province
Washington – The Iraqi army executed a solo military operation in Baghdad July 7, capturing a high-value insurgent, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq says.
U.S. Army Major General William Caldwell told reporters in the Iraqi capital just hours after the successful operation that the Iraqi army planned, organized, led and carried out the independent ground assault. Coalition forces were nearby and provided some air support for the operation in eastern Baghdad.
Caldwell said Iraqi intelligence alerted the army that “a very significant criminal” was located in a residential neighborhood. While the individual has not been identified publicly, the spokesman said he has been involved in weapons transfers from Syria, killed two Iraqi soldiers and has been associated with cases resulting in the kidnapping, torture and murder of Iraqi citizens. He said the captured criminal also was wanted because he has been linked to vigilante justice against perceived enemies.
The captive and four others seized with him are being interrogated, according to Caldwell, and intelligence found with them is being exploited.
The men were taken into custody after a 43-minute security operation that Caldwell described as well coordinated and well executed. Iraqi army forces, equipped with night-vision goggles, returned fire only after they had been fired on by rocket-propelled grenades, according to Caldwell.
The ground assault is part of a larger offensive, “Operation Together Forward,” designed to bring better security to Iraq’s capital. There are 43,000 Iraqi security forces and 8,000 coalition forces supporting the broader operation. (See related article.)
IRAQI SECURITY FORCE READIES FOR NEW PROVINCIAL AUTHORITY
Iraqi security forces are also making final preparations to assume full control of the province of Muthanna in mid-July. U.S. Army Brigadier General Kurt Cichowski, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon July 7 via video conference from Baghdad, said Muthanna will be the first of Iraq’s 18 provinces to be turned over fully from coalition control.
This transfer is another Iraqi success, he said, and signals the “tangible beginning of a brand-new phase” for the Iraqi government. By the end of 2006, Cichowski said, he expects about nine of the provinces to be completely under Iraqi control.
Once the transfer takes place, some but not all coalition forces will move out of the province, the spokesman said. Some coalition transition teams will remain to lead, coach and mentor security and police forces as necessary.
Cichowski also said some coalition training and joint exercises will continue, as will humanitarian and emergency assistance.
The transcript of Cichowski’s briefing is available on the Defense Department Web site.
For more information, see Iraq Update and International Security.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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