24 July 2006
Iraqis Marshalling Resources To Secure Baghdad
Army, police targeting armed groups operating outside the law, says spokesman
Washington – Any armed group contributing to the violence in Iraq’s capital, regardless of motivation, will be brought to justice, says a top spokesman of Multi-National Force – Iraq.
“It makes absolutely no difference what their religious sect is, or what organizations they may claim to belong to,” U.S. Army Major General William Caldwell told journalists at a July 24 briefing in Baghdad, Iraq. “Our intent is to specifically target those who are operating outside the law.”
Caldwell said that Iraqi and coalition forces have encountered a variety of groups participating in the recent surge of attacks in Baghdad, including insurgents and foreign fighters, local militant groups participating in sectarian violence and armed gangs engaged in kidnapping and other criminal activities. (See related article.)
Iraqi security forces continue to demonstrate their effectiveness, said Caldwell, as well as their commitment "to make their capital safer, to set the stage for their capital to emerge as a center not of violence and strife, but, some day, for business and learning, for commerce and for culture." (See related article.)
CALDWELL HIGHLIGHTS IRAQI ARMY, POLICE EFFECTIVENESS
Iraqi army and police units, supported by coalition advisers, recently conducted 19 operations around the capital region aimed at stopping these disruptive forces, which Caldwell said, "seek to uproot democracy and derail the legitimate governance process." In all, they detained eight cell leaders and 87 members of various militant groups, he said.
Iraqi citizens, said Caldwell, continue to show support for government stabilization efforts by reporting suspicious neighborhood activities. On July 18, Caldwell said, a tip from a resident led Iraqi security forces to detain six militants and seize a large cache of weapons, including heavy weapons and bomb-making materials. The next day, an Iraqi response force was dispatched to protect a family being pressured by an armed group to leave their home. The Iraqi patrol subsequently arrested those who had issued the threats.
In a July 21 briefing, Caldwell said that Iraqi forces currently are conducting 700 patrols and operating 600 security checkpoints across the city. At one checkpoint on July 20, Iraqi troops detained a militant who used a woman and three small children to pose as a family to try to sneak through with mortars and other weapons hidden in the car.
Elsewhere in Baghdad that day, Iraqi troops responding to a car bombing discovered a second vehicle nearby rigged to detonate as soon as bystanders and medical personnel arrived, but Caldwell told reporters that Iraqi police safely disarmed the explosives.
Caldwell said that Iraqi army units also are showing their effectiveness in both joint and independent operations against armed groups. The capture of an individual planting a roadside bomb led to the seizure of three more caches around the city where additional bombs were hidden.
He also showed reporters video of Iraqi troops conducting two night raids on July 23 in eastern Baghdad. Supported by coalition advisers the forces engaged in an intense gun battle that ended with the capture of 10 militants and the freeing of two hostages they had kidnapped for ransom.
“This Iraqi-led operation saved lives and once again demonstrates the growing capability of the Iraqi security forces here in Iraq,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell declined to comment on unconfirmed reports that coalition forces are planning to increase troop levels in Baghdad to support security operations. “We obviously don't discuss operational troop movements until they've occurred, but as General Casey has stated after his conversations with the prime minister, we will do whatever it takes to bring security to Baghdad,” he said. (See related article.)
The transcript of and a video link to Caldwell’s briefing are available from the Multi-National Force – Iraq Web site.
For more information, see Iraq Update.
(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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