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6/17/2008 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFPN) -- The home of the Air Force's only wing in Iraq and the Army's logistical headquarters for supplies and shipments in the country has been renamed to reflect the dual nature of the base. Joint Base Balad is the new name for what used to be called Balad Air Base by the Air Force and Logistics Support Area Anaconda by the Army. The new name went into effect at midnight June 15 to coincide with the transfer of base support functions from the Army to the Air Force under the Base Operating Support...

BALAD, Iraq, June 11, 2008 – Since May 22, more than 500 former insurgents in the Balad area have reconciled with the Iraqi government, choosing a different path for their lives. Operation Balad Musalahah is a combined effort between the qada-level government of Iraq -- a qada is roughly equivalent to a U.S. county -- and the leadership of the Iraqi police, 4th Iraqi Army Division, and the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. The ongoing effort has encouraged tribal leaders and local people with significant influence to promote unity within the once-beleaguered area,...

My son has returned from Iraq after 4 month tour of duty with the RAF, He told me while there, that he spent a week with the American camp at Balad. Please pass on my thanks to all Servicemen and women at this site for the hospitality shown to a young Brit, while on duty , as them in a foreign land defending freedom..........

3/12/2008 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Airmen from the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron here were called out to rescue two American citizens lost on a hiking trip March 2. "We initially started hearing information about a possibility of American citizens getting lost during a hiking trip at around 4 a.m.," said Navy Lt. Evan Scaggs, a 64th ERQS pilot and the flight lead for the rescue. "The Joint Personnel Recovery Center started to gather information about who the people were, where they were and checking to see if there were any other problems, while we were on stand-by...

On Nov. 3, U.S. soldiers raided a safe house of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq near the northern city of Balad. Not a single combatant was captured, but inside the house they found something valuable: a diary and will written in neat Arabic script. "I am Abu Tariq, Emir of al-Layin and al-Mashadah Sector," it began. Over 16 pages, the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader detailed the organization's demise in his sector. He once had 600 men, but now his force was down to 20 or fewer, he wrote. They had lost weapons and allies. Abu Tariq focused his anger...

12/20/2007 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- With the help of volunteers from around the base, the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing flight safety office reduced the number of bird strikes on aircraft by 30 percent here in November. They accomplished this through the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard program, which uses awareness and proactivity to reduce the number of bird-strike threats against aviation assets. "We are here preserving the Air Force's combat capabilities," said Master Sgt. Brian Saunders, a flight safety office member." Last year alone $42 million in damage was done to Air Force aircraft from bird strikes." Helping...

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Gunmen burst into two houses belonging to a Sunni Muslim family northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, killing 14 relatives, police said. The attack occurred around 1 p.m. local time in the village of Rufayaat, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) east of Balad. Balad is a majority Shiite town 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of the Iraqi capital, but it is surrounded by territory that is mainly populated by Sunnis. At least 10 gunmen piled into two vehicles broke into the homes, then separated women and children from their male relatives. All 14 victims were men, ranging in age...

Ansar al-Sunnah in Iraq, in eight communiqués issued between Tuesday, November 28, 2006, and today, Thursday, November 30, claim responsibility for attacks targeting American forces in the cities of Haditha, Kirkuk, Heet, and Balad. Two of these operations, including the detonation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on an American CIA vehicle and truck carrier, were videotaped. Others, composed of sniper attacks and bombings of vehicles and barracks, were stated to be revenge attacks for American crimes in Haditha.

BALAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Iraq on Wednesday on a visit that comes amid waning support in the United States for the war and questions about when U.S. troops might start returning home. Rumsfeld's visit follows stops in Afghanistan, where military operations are often overshadowed by fighting in Iraq, and Tajikistan, which because of its location has become critical to U.S. counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics efforts. Rumsfeld has so far declined to comment on troop levels in Iraq, saying those decisions should be made with commanders in the field.

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Raymond Mathews (left) and Staff Sgt. Jason Parker, assigned to 66th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, cover the windshield to a HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter at Balad Air Base, Iraq, June 20, 2006. Elite, unique and one-of-a-kind in Iraq, the squadron is the only combat search and rescue unit in Iraq and is trained to save the people no one else can reach. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Andrew Oquendo Rescue Unit at Balad Serves as ‘911’ for Iraq Called in for only those facing extreme danger, the pararescuemen are the “911” unit...

Balad Airbase-Paving the Way to the Future By Polli Barnes Keller Gulf Region Division U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Before - parking of helicopters on edge of active taxiways. Photo 3: After - Tactical helicopter parking ramp. (USACE Photo by Ray Martin) Tikrit Iraq - Repairs and renovations to the Balad Airfield are paving the way to the future of Iraq.In four months, over 800 cubic meters of concrete have been placed and over 35 miles of conduit and conductors have been laid. By the time all the repairs and renovations to the Balad Airbase runway are complete, more than...

5/17/2006 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Aircraft pack the flightline here and operations are non-stop and intense. C-130 Hercules, MQ-1 Predators, F-16 Fighting Falcons and HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters all call this busy base home. The men and women who support the aircraft say Balad has the busiest single-runway airfield in the Department of Defense. One look and anyone can see this is probably true. “The benefits of this forward operating airfield are immeasurable,” said Capt. Brian Chandler, 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron airfield operations flight commander. “Without this airfield, it would be much more difficult to be...

5/8/2006 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- To say the staff at Balad’s Air Force Theater Hospital has seen everything may be an understatement. The doctors, nurses and medics here, some from McChord Air Force Base and Madigan Army Medical Center in the state of Washington, save the lives of servicemembers who are wounded while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. From injured Soldiers rushed in by helicopter to wounded insurgents, the patients they see run the gamut. The patients are Iraqi police, military, civilians and insurgents, in-country nationals, coalition civilians and military, American civilians and, of course, American servicemembers. “We...

May 1, 2006 issue - Maj. Micah Morgan fondly pats the nose of his Predator drone, much as a cavalry officer of old might have stroked the muzzle of his prized horse. "This is the future of the Air Force," says Morgan, a former B-1 bomber pilot. It is a glorious day in the Sunni Triangle. Outside the "wire" of Balad Air Base the insurgency still rages and sectarian war looms, but the sky above is a deep azure and, no small thing, wholly American-owned. A relaxed Morgan watches from the shade of Saddam Hussein's old hardened hangars as another...

1/18/2006 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Air Force families find ways to stay connected when separated -- phone calls, emails, and internet chats stretching over 10 time zones are commonplace. But nothing beats seeing a spouse face-to-face. Deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, Staff Sgt. Millie Nordman knows how it feels to be separated from her husband. She and her husband have endured deployment separation twice. But today, rather than speaking into a phone receiver to talk to her husband, Sergeant Nordman just meets him for a game of putt-putt golf. Husband Staff Sgt. Craig Nordman is also...

TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, Jan. 4, 2005) – U.S. Soldiers responding to an indirect fire attack against a coalition base near Balad killed one suspected terrorist and captured another Jan. 2. A coalition aircraft operating near Logistics Support Area Anaconda spotted two people running away from the site where the fire originated and helped guide a nearby patrol to the area. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Soldiers quickly captured one suspect, but the other fled on foot. The man led the Soldiers on a two-hour long chase that finally ended when the Soldiers cornered him in...

1/3/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- People around the globe welcomed 2006 with a variety of New Year’s Eve celebrations. High above Iraq, a Reserve C-130 Hercules aircrew headed for Balad Air Base, celebrated in a different way -- flying another mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. With the drone of the aircraft’s four propellers in the background, Senior Master Sgt. Ernie Leyba attached his night vision gear to his flight helmet. It was nearly pitch black on the flight deck, except for the pale green glow of the instrument lights. But it didn’t stop the flight engineer. Since...

1/3/2006 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Airmen who maintain the MQ-1 Predator here take great pride in ensuring the unmanned aerial vehicles they look after can keep and eagle eye on what goes on in Iraq. The 61 Airmen of the 46th Aircraft Maintenance Unit -- and three Royal Air Force Airmen -- keep the Predators flying for the pilots who fly them from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and Balad. They ensure the Predators can provide interdiction, surveillance, target acquisition and conduct armed reconnaissance against critical and perishable targets. "The aircraft's ability to loiter over an area...

BALAD, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2005 – You can call it "Army water" or "No-name water," but whatever you call it, servicemembers here will stay hydrated while keeping soldiers and civilian truckers safer. Bottled water is a mainstay of life in this theater, and the 3rd Corps Support Command has opened a water purification and bottling plant at the massive logistical area here. The corps has long wanted to open bottling plants in Iraq, officials said. Currently, bottled water - the preferred drink in Iraq - comes in via truck from Kuwait, Jordan or Turkey. Water is bulky and takes a...

December 04, 2005 Release A051204d Terrorist attack backfires TIKRIT, Iraq – Army and Air Force units teamed up to crush an ill-conceived terrorist attack against an Army patrol near Balad the morning of Dec. 3. The attack began with a hail of small-arms fire directed against the patrol. The Soldiers quickly located and engaged the gunmen, forcing them to take cover. The patrol called for close-air support and two Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons responded by dropping laser-guided bombs. Two terrorists were killed in the short engagement. One Soldier was treated at the scene for minor injuries and returned to...

11/9/2005 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Deployments often mean working long hours thousands of miles away from family and friends. But for two Airmen here, that is not the case. The Soto brothers are both deployed to the 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron. Tech. Sgt. Orlando Soto and Senior Airman Saul Soto deployed from the 156th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Muniz Air National Guard Station, Puerto Rico. The two are continuing a family tradition started by their father, who served in the Army for 25 years. "My father inspired me to join the service," Sergeant Soto said. "I...

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) - Lt. Col. Herbert Carter is 86 years old and ready for deployment. More than 60 years after his World War II tour with the pioneering black pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen, Carter's new mission will be shorter, though no less courageous. Carter is one of seven aging Tuskegee Airmen traveling this weekend to Balad, Iraq - a city ravaged by roadside bombs and insurgent activity - to inspire a younger generation of airmen who carry on the traditions of the storied 332nd Fighter Group. "I don't think it hurts to have someone who can empathize...

DALLAS, Aug. 3, 2005 – Air Force personnel worldwide have been filling nontraditional roles to contribute to the fight against a multifaceted, adaptive insurgency, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said here Aug. 2. Addressing a meeting of the Air Force Sergeants Association, Rumsfeld highlighted the different jobs Air Force personnel have been doing in the war on terror. Airmen have been manning gun trucks, guarding supply convoys, and working on Army vehicles, among other things, he said. On a recent trip to Balad Air Base, Iraq, Rumsfeld said, he was impressed by the work of these airmen, especially the Air Force...

In battle, one of the hardest challenges is saving the wounded. Medical professionals encounter injuries not normally seen in peacetime, and many times see multiple life-threatening injures requiring immediate treatment on the battlefield. Another problem is moving patients across hot desert sands on bumpy roads in Iraq, which can be logistically challenging and uncomfortable for the patient. And there is always the danger of roadside bombs. To solve these problems, military aeromedical planners developed what is now an efficient medical evacuation system that moves patients from where they were injured to definitive care quickly and safely. Along the way, patients...

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Each MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle mission flown in the Iraqi sky begins and ends here. Predator operators deployed here put the aircraft in the air and make sure it lands safely. Sitting side by side in the “cockpit,” enlisted Airmen and officers work as a team providing top cover to Soldiers on the ground. Pilots and sensor operators with the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron here each play a key role in the successful Predator mission. While technology allows pilots to control the aircraft from the U.S., Predator takeoffs and landings must be controlled...

BALAD, Iraq, July 27, 2005 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld saluted soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen serving in Iraq and around the world during a town meeting here today. Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad this morning for an operational update from senior U.S. commanders as well as top Iraqi government and military leaders. "Thanks to you, the terrorists are far from achieving their goals" in Iraq and Afghanistan, the secretary told about 500 U.S. servicemembers gathered comfortably for the town hall meeting in a building insulated from Iraq's blast-furnace-like July heat. The deadline for drafting a new Iraqi constitution is...

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2005 – A Task Force Liberty soldier was killed and two others were wounded during an indirect fire attack on a coalition forces base near Balad, Iraq, today, military officials in Baghdad reported. One wounded soldier was taken to a coalition forces medical treatment facility, and the other was treated and returned to duty, officials said. A Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed in action near Fallujah, Iraq, July 23 when the vehicle he was in was struck by an improvised explosive device. The incident occurred...

Sloniker Sends: Got the following from an Army Guard pilot from Missouri currently serving in Balad Iraq: Jim, I will do my best to recount what happened on November 12, 2004. I will only try to relay the facts. It is Standing Operating Procure for us to fly in pairs. Nov 12 was no exception. After what seemed like a routine flying mission over Baghdad. Dan Milberg was leading his flight of two UH-60 Blackhawk's back to our base at Balad. They were about 20 miles from Balad flying over a large date palm grove. The area North of Baghdad...

7th Transportation Battalion soldiers work on their new M1114 Humvees at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, putting up new weapon systems and ensuring the vehicles work properly, Nov. 12, 2004. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Steven J. Schneider LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, BALAD, Iraq, Nov. 30, 2004 — Soldiers from Logistics Support Area Anaconda picked up new Convoy Protection Platform M1114 Humvees at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait Nov. 12. The new vehicles will help soldiers escort critical supply convoys in a safer, more fully armored vehicle. Each Humvee came with a .50 caliber machine gun, Mark 19 grenade launcher or a M240B...

NEWS RELEASE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 November 7, 2004 Release Number: 04-11-20 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SOLDIERS FIND WEAPONS CACHES NEAR BALAD TIKRIT, Iraq -- First Infantry Division Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 77th Infantry Regiment discovered three weapon caches near Balad on Nov 6. The first cache was discovered at about 1 p.m. A continued search of the area found two other caches with the following items: 27 PG-9 rockets, 27 OG-9 projectiles, one BK-88m projectile, two PG-7M rockets, nine OG-7 projectiles, three...

Burger King, Pizza Hut Open Doors at Balad Air Base By Staff Sgt. Ryan Hansen, USAFSpecial to American Forces Press Service BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Oct. 22, 2004 -- Airmen here finally can have it their way, with the opening of Burger King and Pizza Hut restaurants Oct. 10. Airmen from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing wait in line during the grand opening of Burger King and Pizza Hut restaurants run by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Oct. 10. Photo courtesy of AAFES(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available. Lines started...

DEBKAfile's military sources report: Large-scale US and Iraqi forces poised on battle readiness in offensive array Wednesday night around four Sunni Triangle hotbeds: Fallujah, Ramadi, Latafiya and Balad, awaiting order to launch major assaults. This was behind Interim Iraqi PM Allawi’s ultimatum to Fallujah: hand over terror chief Zarqawi and his group or prepare for major military action. Earlier, Zarqawi’s Tawhid and Jihad website displayed gruesome beheadings of two Iraqi intelligence officers. Allawi warned: We will not be lenient.” More than a dozen Iraqis killed in continuing clashes in string of Baath insurgent-held towns: an Iraqi National Guard outpost struck...

Weapons Shop OffersOnsite Support By U.S. Army Pfc. Abel Trevino 28th Public Affairs Detachment LOGISTICAL SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Balad, Iraq, Aug. 19, 2004 — The Small Arms Support Center here has been open for only a few weeks, and already the three-person team has helped soldiers across Iraq repair a variety of weapons, from M-9 pistols to M-2, .50 caliber machine guns and everything in between.The shop primarily deals with distribution of parts for unit armorers to repair weapons, but will repair and modify weapons on site if requested. Prime examples of in-house repairing and modifying are the modifications...

Greetings, Montana: It had now been six weeks since we began flying missions from Balad Air Base, Iraq. Summer is in full swing here along the Tigris River, which provides irrigation for the ancient farms that surround our base. Our airfield is easily recognized from miles away as an island of tan amid the greenery. Typical afternoon high temperatures exceed 115 degrees, with 133 being the highest noted so far. The weather has been cloudless, but the steady breeze occasionally increases to the point where blowing dust reduces visibility to less than a mile. The men and women of the...

BALAD, Iraq - They sit for hours inside a dusty cargo container cooled by a noisy air conditioner. They read novels and Maxim magazines and try to shave strokes off their scores in computer golf. They examine bugs that squeeze under the door and talk in great detail about the meals they'll eat when they go home. On a good day, they'll get to spend, at most, about four minutes doing what they love. Welcome to the life of a Washington Army National Guard mortar man at Logistical Support Area Anaconda. "This is the high life," said Pfc. Shane Zeigler,...

BALAD, Iraq - Spc. James Lain spends his working hours at Logistical Support Area Anaconda much as he does back home in Wenatchee: rewiring fuse boxes and fixing other faulty electrical panels. Only in Iraq, he takes an M-16 rifle to job sites as well as his electrician's tools. Lain, who works as an electrician when not deployed with the Washington Army National Guard, is one of several members of the 81st Brigade Combat Team who are putting their civilian skills to good use at Anaconda. That's one of the advantages National Guard units have over their active-duty counterparts, said...

7/6/2004 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- A C-130 Hercules from the 710th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, with 65 people on board, came within minutes of making a crash landing June 29. What started out to be a 90-minute flight turned into three and a half hours of nonstop effort to get the aircraft safely on the ground. Leaving Balad Air Base, Iraq, during what seemed to be a normal takeoff, the aircrew gained altitude and attempted to retract the landing gear. They received indications that the C-130’s right main landing gear would not retract, and upon inspection, they discovered the gear...

LSA ANACONDA, BALAD, Iraq (Army News Service June 22, 2004) -- The front line of the war used to consist of chasing anti-Coalition forces through cities. The front line has since moved to the highways and supply routes and the Soldiers fighting on it are no longer exclusivley infantryman, but also truck drivers. Soldiers from 3rd Platoon, 660th Transportation Company, drive this front line daily as they leave the semi-protected wire of LSA Anaconda and take supply routes to deliver necessary materials, primarily fuel, to various posts throughout Iraq. “After we got here,” Staff Sgt. Joshua Lucas said, “we knew...

MAIN SUPPLY ROUTE TAMPA, Iraq — The radio inside Sgt. Jim Tomlinson’s armored Humvee chatters out details of a firefight along the road up ahead. The infantryman calls to Spc. Stephen Lord, the machine gunner up top, to be alert. “A unit is taking small arms fire, engaging the enemy on both sides,” Tomlinson yells. “51 Alpha.” Lord knows what that means. Tomlinson’s words, 51 Alpha, refer to an overpass along the highway just inside Baghdad’s North End. A roadside bomb that insurgents planted there recently earned Lord a Purple Heart when it exploded above the 19-year-old generator mechanic from...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A rocket slammed into a U.S. logistics base near the city of Balad Wednesday afternoon, killing two U.S. soldiers and wounding 21 people, the military said. Fourteen of the injured were taken to the U.S. Army's 31st Combat Support Hospital and seven were treated at a clinic on the U.S. base, known as Camp Anaconda, according to a military statement. Balad is 50 miles north of Baghdad.

WITH THE 81ST BRIGADE, Iraq — At Logistical Support Area (LSA) Anaconda, north of Baghdad, the work never stops. Every day here is like two or three days back home. The main reason is that we run 24 hours a day. It's always more exciting to read about the violence in Iraq than it is to read about the exploits of the ordinary, hard-working soldier. Although the 81st Brigade Combat Team, with which I'm serving as a major, may not be in the spotlight, we are accomplishing our assigned mission. On this Memorial Day weekend, it is important to give...

CAMP ANACONDA, Iraq — When Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Summers arrived last fall, the Army knew he’d be able save lives. The 7th Transportation Battalion asked the ship hull technician to attach makeshift steel plates to trucks and Humvees. Poorly protected vehicles had been coming under fire every time they left this central logisitics hub for points all over Iraq. Many of the vehicles did not have the extra protection of “armor-up” kits. And the Army didn’t have enough to go around. “I’m a welder by trade,” said Summers, a 33-year-old Naval reservist from Frisco, Calif. “When I got...

Military brings Iraqi children gifts from America BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- Two young Iraqi children look at a ball they just received from Airmen and Soldiers at a village near here as part of a humanitarian mission. The servicemembers handed out school supplies and toys that had been collected by children from several schools in Florida. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jon Hanson) Download HiRes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Tools Printable story E-mail story Subscribe now -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by Master Sgt. Jon Hanson 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs 5/19/2004 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- More than 300...

Sunday, March 14, 2004 Task Force 1-77 finds 1st big cache By Steve Liewer, Stars and StripesEuropean edition, Sunday, March 14, 2004 Steve Liewer / S&S A Bradley fighting vehicle follows a squad from Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment down a rutted lane Friday in search of weapons and bomb-making material. Two caches were found in orchards within a few hundred feet of where the soldiers are shown patrolling in Albu Shakur, Iraq, near the city of Balad. Steve Liewer / S&S 1st Lt. Scott Gilman, left, 24, of Decatur, Ill., and Sgt. 1st Class Brian Frey, 34,...

BALAD, Iraq — As a crowd of Iraqis clapped and cheered, leaders of the 4th Infantry Division unit that brought calm to this city gave a gift meant to symbolize peace and friendship. Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman and Capt. Matt Cunningham — battalion and company commanders from the 4th ID’s 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment — presented a statue of a dove flying above a map of Iraq. It stands atop a red-tile pedestal and fountain built by local artisans. The officers dedicated the statue to 1,500 men, women and children from the Shiite city of 170,000 who were slaughtered...

BALAD, Iraq — As a crowd of Iraqis clapped and cheered, leaders of the 4th Infantry Division unit that brought calm to this city gave a gift meant to symbolize peace and friendship. Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman and Capt. Matt Cunningham — battalion and company commanders from the 4th ID’s 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment — presented a statue of a dove flying above a map of Iraq. It stands atop a red-tile pedestal and fountain built by local artisans. The officers dedicated the statue to 1,500 men, women and children from the Shiite city of 170,000 who were slaughtered...

Predators move to Balad BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- Staff Sgt. Jeffery Hicks replaces a directional antenna mounting unit on an RQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle before it begins a mission supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sergeant Hicks is a crew chief with the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron here. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. C.E. Lewis) Download HiRes • RQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle by Staff Sgt. A.C. Eggman332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs 3/2/2004 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- The unit came packed and ready to position themselves autonomously, so they could pursue their prey quietly, unseen for hours. Arriving...

Ghassan Atmallah, 40, and his brother, Sirhan, 25, Israeli Arabs and members of the Balad Party from Reina near Nazareth, were indicted in Nazareth District Court on Sunday for setting up a terrorist cell on behalf of Hizbullah in order to perpetrate suicide bombings. They were charged with belonging to an enemy group, planning to perpetrate terrorist acts, and undergoing illegal military training. To disguise their alleged activities, one of the brothers established business ties with Turkey and planned to import goods from the country as a front. Security officials said that, while the Atmallahs were arrested in the early...

One 4th Infantry Division soldier was killed and 12 others were wounded during a rocket attack on Logistics Support Area Anaconda near Balad, Iraq, Feb. 1. The injured soldiers were taken to the 31st Combat Support Hospital for treatment. A Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release today said two of the soldiers were in serious condition, six were in stable condition and four were treated for superficial wounds and returned to duty. One soldier was killed and two others were injured Feb. 1 when their humvee rolled over near the town of Haditha. The injured soldiers were evacuated to...

<p>TIKRIT, Iraq  — An American soldier was killed and 12 wounded in a rocket attack Sunday on an Army base in central Iraq, the U.S. military said.</p> <p>The rocket landed inside a logistics support base of the 4th Infantry Division in Balad, 50 miles south of the division's headquarters in Tikrit, an Army statement said.</p>