BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 8, 2007 -- As the new year dawns bright, soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, are stepping up pressure on insurgent leaders in the Karkh section of Baghdad.
The soldiers of the 3rd Battalion take the responsibility of protecting all citizens, both Shia and Sunni, very seriously. The leadership, working with intelligence gained from the residents of the neighborhoods, have developed a top-three list of insurgents who operate in the area that they intend to capture. Adil Tamra, a man who reportedly kills people for the sport of it, is at the top of that list. Stories abound about Tamra and rival leaders playing a deadly game of one-upsmanship where each man taunts the others to kill more men today than he did yesterday. Hes just like Saddam Hussein, said an Iraqi intelligence officer who works with the battalion. He sits there and shoots people in the head, because they dont share the same beliefs as him. Much to the frustration of the battalion, Tamra has proven to stay just one step ahead of the Iraqi Army. We raided Adil Tamras house yesterday, said team leader Iraqi Army Maj. Ahmed during a combat patrol through the area Jan. 4. We found his (explosive) vest, some mortars and an RPG. The information we had told us he was in the house minutes before we arrived. Clearing insurgents from Baghdads neighborhoods comes with a price. Some members of the 3rd Battalion have received death threats against them and their families from Tamra and the others on the list. They know were getting very close to them, said one Iraqi officer, who asked not be identified for security reasons. They are worried. We are becoming very effective against them. While the battalion conducts many missions on its own, they are sometimes joined by a Military Transition Team (MiTT) from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. The Jan. 4 combat patrol through the area was such a case. The MiTT and the two Bradley fighting vehicles they brought with them, were a welcome asset to the patrol because contact with the enemy was expected. Even though contact was expected, U.S. Army Maj. Chris Norrie, the MiTT leader hoped, maybe because they havent seen Bradleys here in so long, theyll just lay low and itll be a quiet day out there. But experience also told him that contact was more likely the case. Bradleys were last seen on neighborhood streets more than 16 months ago. With Ahmed leading the combat patrol, the large convoy headed through an intersection known as Talil Square. This intersection is such a popular spot for enemy snipers to engage Iraqi and Coalition troops that shell casings litter the intersection. Just off Talil Square, Ahmed stopped the patrol and signaled for his troops to begin cutting open the sandbags that block the alleys. He then requested assistance from one of the Coalition fighting vehicles to help out with a larger, more complex position. You could see, as we tore down the sandbags, there were hundreds of empty (shell casings) from AK-47s, Ahmed later explained through an interpreter. The insurgents use the sandbags to stand up and shoot at the Iraqi Army and Coalition, then they duck down and hide so we cant shoot them. The narrow alleyways and close proximity of the buildings in these neighborhoods make it difficult to use heavy fire-power, according to MiTT members. They say they just cant risk the possibility of hurting or killing innocent civilians that live in the congested area.
While tearing down one of the fighting positions, an explosion occurred about 20 meters from where soldiers were |