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FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Special Groups criminals fired an 82 mm mortar at a Coalition force base that missed its target and landed near a market in the Karadah security district of Baghdad at 11:32 p.m. May 13. Approximately 30 minutes after the initial attack, the market near the impact of the criminal’s attack burned down. It is not known at this time if the incidents are related; however, Coalition force officials from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light), are investigating an Iraqi National Police report attributing the cause of the fire to faulty electrical wiring...

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2008 – Iraqi and U.S. forces are making progress while performing counterinsurgency and reconstruction missions across Iraq, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said yesterday. Iraqi and coalition forces continue to make gains in establishing security and enforcing the rule of law in Baghdad, Mosul and Basra over the past week, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. In Basra, Iraqi forces involved in an operation dubbed “Sawlat al Fursan,” or “Charge of the Knights,” are busily removing illegal weapons, fighting and arresting insurgents and...

Clerics have told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stick to more worldly issues after he was quoted as saying the "hidden imam" of Shiite Islam was directing Iran. Ahmadinejad has always been a devotee of the Mahdi, the twelfth imam of Shiite Islam, who Shiites believe disappeared more than a thousand years ago and who will return one day to usher in a new era of peace and harmony. But in a speech to theology students broadcast by state television on Monday, Ahmadinejad went further than ever before in emphasising his belief that the Mahdi is playing a critical role in...

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2008 – U.S. military officials in Iraq expressed optimism yesterday that a truce being worked out between the Iraqi government and Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia will help reduce violence in Baghdad’s Sadr City section. “We welcome an end to violence and putting an end to criminal activity, so we are obviously in support of the government of Iraq as they move forward in a dialog with elements of the Sadr Trend,” Navy Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, said at a news conference. But Driscoll emphasized that it’s premature to call the...

Map of the disposition of Iraqi and US forces in and around Sadr City, and the progress on the barrier. The red portion has yet to be completed. Map courtesy of Multinational Forces Iraq. US and Iraqi forces continue to strike at the Mahdi Army in Baghdad despite the agreement reached between the Iraqi government and the Mahdi Army late Friday. Seventeen Mahdi Army fighters were killed in northeastern Baghdad over the past 24 hours. Nine of the Mahdi Army fighters killed were killed in Sadr City: four Mahdi fighters were killed by an air weapons team as they planted...

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers continue to deny criminals freedom of movement in and around the Adhamiyah and Sadr City districts of Baghdad May 10-11. At approximately 7:30 a.m. May 10, MND-B soldiers with Company D, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, returned precision fire and killed a criminal who attacked them with small-arms fire in Adhamiyah. At approximately 10:50 a.m., soldiers from Company C, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Infantry Regiment, returned precision fire and killed a criminal who attacked them with small-arms fire in Adhamiyah. At approximately 4 p.m. May 10, soldiers from Company E, 1-68 CAB,...

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2008 – A U.S. Hellfire missile killed an insurgent near the site of a roadside-bomb attack in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district today, U.S. military officials said. A vehicle was destroyed while another insurgent fled the scene. “Our soldiers, along with the Iraqi security forces, continue to meet with the local populace to identify these criminal elements and eliminate the threat they pose,” said Army Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a Multinational Division Baghdad and 4th Infantry Division spokesman. “We will continue to use precision fire to defend the Iraqi people and ourselves against these criminal elements.” In yesterday’s operations:...

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad aerial weapons teams conducted operations against criminal elements in Baghdad May 10. Following an indirect-fire attack in central Baghdad, an MND-B AWT made positive identification of a rocket rail at the point of origin in the Sadr City district of Baghdad used to launch the attack. The AWT engaged a criminal element on site at approximately 6:40 a.m. with two Hellfire missiles. One criminal was killed, and the rocket rail and a shack were destroyed. Secondary explosions at the site also indicate that illegal weapons also were destroyed. At approximately 10 a.m., an AWT...

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – BaghdadSoldiers killed eight criminals, who attacked Coalition force soldiers with rocketpropelled grenades and small-arms fire. ISF and MND-B Soldiers also seized four weapons caches during combat operations in Baghdad May 9 that continue to safeguard Iraqi citizens.At approximately 11:30 a.m., MND-B soldiers discovered an improvised explosive device and a 122 mm rocket off a tip from Iraqi National Police.At approximately 2 p.m., soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, killed three criminals who attacked their patrol with small-arms fire and RPGs.At approximately 2:20 p.m., soldiers from 1st Brigade...

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2008 – Coalition forces in Iraq today killed nine enemy fighters and detained 13 suspects during a series of operations across the country that targeted al-Qaida and its foreign-terrorist network, military officials said. -- In Baghdad, coalition detained a wanted man who allegedly is part of al-Qaida operations north of the city. Another suspect also was detained. -- Sixty miles west of Baghdad, coalition forces captured a wanted man linked to the movement of terrorists into Iraq. -- Coalition forces detained 10 more suspected terrorists during operations in northwestern Iraq. -- Coalition forces used Hellfire missiles to...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2008 – The people of Sadr City are cooperating with Iraqi forces, but clearing the crowded portion of Baghdad is a painstaking procedure, an Iraqi government spokesman said in Baghdad today. Tahseen al-Sheikhly and Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a coalition spokesman, discussed ongoing operations in Sadr City during a news conference. “We see some places in Baghdad like Sadr City, suffers from the control of the criminal gangs and make those people suffer,” Sheikhly said through a translator. “The Iraqi government exerted a lot of effort to provide the needs for the people of Sadr City.”...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2008 – Coalition forces killed a wanted terrorist and detained 23 suspects in two days of operations targeting terrorist cells around Iraq. Coalition forces targeted the wanted terrorist during an operation west of Balad, about 50 miles north of Baghdad. The man refused to comply with an interpreter's instructions and, perceiving hostile intent, coalition forces engaged and killed him. The terrorist was a leader in the al-Qaida in Iraq network in Salahuddin province, coalition officials said. Another wanted man, believed to be part of the same network, was detained with an additional suspect in a separate operation...

Soldiers from the 3/31/8 IA Div. and Co. B, 2-502nd Inf. Regt., wait to begin a raid of several houses in Jabella, Iraq, May 2. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Amanda McBride. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — In an effort to clear out criminals in the area, Iraqi Army Soldiers raided several houses in the city of Jabella, Iraq, May 2. With support from Coalition forces, the raid resulted in the detainment of 29 suspected insurgents.Soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 31st Brigade, 8th IA Division, led the early morning raid, with help from Soldiers with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd...

Click to view slideshow of operations in the Rusafa district, Baghdad. Photos by Bill Ardolino. The US soldiers and Iraqi police living at Joint Security Station Al Qanat at the Northeastern edge of Baghdad’s Rusafa district have “a front row seat” to the fight taking place in Sadr City. As US and Iraqi Army forces clash with the Mahdi Army, hissing RPGs and small arms fire periodically crackle during the day and are punctuated by occasional orange explosions and red tracers streaking out of the Sadr City skyline at night. Two to four Apache attack helicopters constantly prowl the...

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2008 – An M1A2 Abrams tank crew fired a 120 mm round at two attackers on a rooftop, killing both, during fighting in northeastern Baghdad today, military officials reported. A nearby U.S. patrol had struck a roadside bomb, and two men on a nearby rooftop then engaged the Americans with small-arms fire. No U.S. soldiers were injured in the attack. “When attacked or when we observe an imminent attack, we will respond with appropriate force,” said Army Col. Allen Batschelet, Multinational Division Baghdad and 4th Infantry Division chief of staff. In yesterday’s operations in Iraq: -- U.S....

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed and captured dozens of enemy fighters and terrorists during operatrions conducted throughout Iraq over the past three days. Coalition forces captured two suspected Iranian-trained insurgents early this morning in the Rashid district in Baghdad. Intelligence information led coalition forces to the location of an individual suspected of smuggling Iranian weapons. He is also suspected of providing information to other insurgent leaders that led to rocket attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces. The terrorist surrendered without incident. Coalition forces conducted a follow-on mission to capture another suspect. There, they detained an...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Coalition forces found a weapons cache of explosively-formed penetrators in the southern Baghdad community of Warij May 2. Soldiers from 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were on patrol in Warij and found four EFPs hidden in an office closet shelf of a factory. A brand new 107 mm rocket was also discovered. The EFPs were covered with foam and had wires leading from the back. Forty pounds of unknown bulk explosives, a rocket sled and blasting caps were also found. A guard at the factory was detained after...

A member of the Iraqi national police creates an inventory of illegal weapons confiscated by Iraqi national police in the Sadr City District of Baghdad, Iraq, as he turns them over to members of the 42nd brigade, 11th Iraqi army division, at Combat Patrol Base Comanche on April 19. (US Air Force photo/Technical Sergean Adrian Cadiz) US and Iraqi forces continue to target the Mahdi Army as an Iraqi delegation visited Iran to confront the country over its support of Shia militias battling the government. The US military conducted a guided rocket attack on a Special Groups headquarters adjacent...

2nd Lieutenant Mike Hebert leads White Platoon of the Blackfoot Troop, 3-89 Cavalry on a presence patrol of a difficult neighborhood in southern Rusafa District, Baghdad. Photo by Bill Ardolino. BAGHDAD, IRAQ: The nighttime walk through a difficult neighborhood in Southern Rusafa was uneventful; a careful “presence patrol” designed to show local citizens American forces and gauge public opinion. The jumbled maze of brightly-lit ramshackle shops and pitch-black back alleys was one of the less secure parts of the district. Southern Rusafa is “a neighborhood with the most potential to become violent because of the JAM (Mahdi Army) special...

The newspapers are predictably filled with articles about how 52 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq last month – the highest toll since September. Iraqi civilian casualties are also said to be at the highest level since August. These losses are being used to cast aspersions on claims of progress in Iraq. Even one death is too many and 52 deaths is tragedy multiplied 52-fold. But let's keep some perspective. As the icasualties.org website makes clear, for better or worse, April was still one of the lighter-casualty months during the long war in Iraq. More important, casualties cannot be looked at...

The recent offensive operations taken by the Iraqi government against the Mahdi Army (Jaish al-Mahdi - JAM) of Muqtada al-Sadr have received much analysis and commentary since the onset. Each of the ensuing analysis and commentary offerings have agreed that the Maliki government’s military actions and the Mahdi Army response are revelatory in nature. But that is where the agreement seems to end, as there appears a divergence regarding precisely what has been revealed: Who has operated and enjoys the position of strength, Maliki and the Iraqi government and military forces, or the Mahdi Army forces of Muqtada al-Sadr, which...

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed at least three enemy fighters, captured 55 suspects, and seized weapons in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said. In Iraq today: -- Coalition troops detained four suspected terrorists during raids in Mosul targeting members of the local al-Qaida in Iraq network responsible for attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces. -- Using information gleaned in previous operations, coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists in a separate raid in Mosul. -- Iraqi and coalition forces captured two wanted men and two additional suspects 15 miles northwest of Baghdad. One...

BALAD — Iraqi Special Operations Forces, advised by U.S. Special Forces captured a Special Groups commander in Baghdad April 30. ISOF conducted the operation to detain the Special Groups commander who has been leading attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces in the area. The man is believed to be a weapons smuggler, and is reported to conduct improvised explosive device and indirect fire attacks. Intelligence reports link him to an IED attack in October 2007 that killed four U.S. soldiers, and a mortar attack in October 2007 that killed one U.S. Soldier. During the operation, ISOF received small-arms fire from...

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2008 – Most Iraqi people now reject the violence that has plagued their neighborhoods and the extremists who have been inciting the violence, a senior official in the region said today. “We increasingly see a commitment to economic development and reconstruction. That is the path that leads to prosperity and the broadest opportunity for all Iraqis to share in it,” said Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, in a news conference. In places where Iraqi citizens have rejected the violence, people are returning to their homes and capitalizing on improving local...

MEXICO CITY, April 30, 2008 – As Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stands up to insurgents threatening Iraq, it’s serving to unify his once-splintered government, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters here last night. Gates pointed to Maliki’s Iraqi-led crackdown against Shiite militias, primarily Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s militia, known as the Mahdi Army, or Jaysh al-Mahdi. While conceding that operations in and around the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City have seen more U.S. and Iraqi casualties, Gates said part of it is because coalition and Iraqi forces are operating in new areas. Another part is because of mixed...

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2008 – Coalition forces killed three terrorists and detained 12 suspects today during operations in the northern half of Iraq. -- Coalition forces targeted a suspect wanted for aiding foreign terrorists at a suspected terrorist safe-house about 60 miles north of Baghdad. Forces killed three armed terrorists there, and five others were detained. -- Coalition forces nabbed four suspects in Mosul. -- In Beiji, about 100 miles south of Mosul, forces captured the leader of a car-bomb cell along with two others. In operations around Iraq yesterday: -- In Baghdad, an aerial weapons team and an M1A2...

Citizens of the Hyyaniyah district of Basra, Iraq, greet Iraqi Army soldiers with smiles as they push through clearing the district of criminals and weapons caches April 19. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Eric J. Glassey. BASRA — As part of ongoing operations to secure the Hyyaniyah district in Basra, Iraq, Iraqi Security Forces searched the area of criminals and weapons caches last week. The ISF involved were Soldiers from 1st Division, 14th Division; the 26th Brigade attached to the 1st Division; a Battalion with the National Police from Baghdad; and elements from an Emergency Police Battalion.“It went rather well...

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 42 members of Iranian-backed “special groups,” detained eight terrorism suspects, and seized weapons in Iraq over the past four days, military officials said. During operations in northeastern Baghdad yesterday: -- Iraqi and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers manning a checkpoint retaliated against a large group that attacked them around 6:35 p.m. with small-arms fire. The U.S. component of the combined force used 120 mm fire from M1A12 Abrams tanks and small-arms fire, killing 22 attackers and forcing the rest to flee. No U.S. or Iraqi soldiers were harmed or killed. --...

Click the image to view the slideshow several caches of Iranian-made weapons seized in February and March. Images courtesy of Multinational Forces Iraq. Clashes between the Mahdi Army and US and Iraqi forces continue in northern and eastern Baghdad over the weekend despite a call by Muqtada al Sadr for his fighters to cease attacks. US air weapons team killed seven Mahdi Army fighters in Sadr City on Saturday and early Sunday morning while the Mahdi Army attacked a police patrol in the Sha'ab neighborhood and launched mortars at the International Zone. Meanwhile, an Iraqi general has said Iran...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON — Knocking on doors; greeting the family; talking about politics, the neighbors or just the weather over a hot cup of overly sweet chai – a pleasant side of operations for Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers who have operated in the southeastern Rashid District for the past eight months. For Soldiers of “Fox,” Company F, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, MND-B, interpersonal relations, consensus information and the pictures they create are the biggest contributors to the safety and security of the citizens living in the...

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 22 suspected terrorists, captured 37 others, and seized weapons caches in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said. During operations today: -- An air weapons team fired a Hellfire missile at four criminals as they attempted to emplace an improvised explosive device in northeastern Baghdad around 1 a.m. The missile killed all four and destroyed the IED. -- A separate AWT witnessed two criminals setting up a firing position in northeastern Baghdad at about 1:30 a.m. The AWT engaged with one Hellfire missile and killed one criminal; the...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi National Police from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd NP Division, working in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad, seized a weapons cache and detained a suspected criminal during a security patrol April 20. Conducting simultaneous raids at two different sites, 3rd Bn., 5th Bde., 2nd NP Div. officers captured two heavy machine guns with 1,800 rounds, a sniper rifle and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and detained a suspected criminal operating in the Risalah neighborhood of West Rashid. Iraqi Security Forces such as the 3rd Bn., 5th Bde., 2nd NP conduct daily patrols and security operations for...

Freedom Journal Iraq - News video Very professional news report by the Multi-National Force Iraq of frontline scenes of the mission of our awesome troops and the Iraqi police and Army forces, posted on April 17, 2008.

An Iraqi soldier with the 1st Iraqi Army examines one of more than 160 mortars found during Operation Charge of the Knights in Basra April 19. Some of the markings on the weapons indicate a manufacturing date in 2007. U.S. Army photo. BASRA — The Iraqi Army discovered a large weapons and munitions cache in a house located in the Al Hyyaniyah area of Basra April 19. Soldiers from the 1st Iraqi Army discovered the cache during the search phase of Operation Charge of the Knights. The cache consisted of a large number of weaponry with Iranian markings. The cache...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces captured a suspected Iranian-trained Special Groups commander and three other suspected criminals Sunday during operations in the Kadamiyah district of Baghdad.The targeted individual allegedly conducted attacks against Iraqi security and Coalition forces and was involved in extra-judicial killings in Baghdad. Reports also indicate the wanted individual was an associate of several senior-level criminal element leaders involved in attacks on Coalition forces. Intelligence led Coalition forces to the targeted individual’s location. En route, Coalition forces came under attack by small arms fire from unknown assailants. After arriving at the targeted individual’s location, Coalition forces came under...

BALAD, Iraq – A combined force of more than 300 Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics personnel, advised by U.S. Special Operations Forces, arrested 40 criminal militia members after coming under attack in Suq Ash Shuyukh, southeast of Nasiriyah, Iraq, April 19. Forty criminal militia members were killed during the armed confrontation with ISF, including the group’s top two leaders. Twelve ISF members were reported wounded. Using assault rifles and automatic weapons, the criminal militia attacked Iraqi Security Forces on the morning of April 19. Regional police and Army forces on alert in the area responded...

Muqtada al Sadr. Click to view. The battle between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi and US forces intensified over the weekend. As the Iraqi Army took control of a Mahdi Army stronghold in Basrah, Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army, threatened to end the self-imposed cease-fire. Iraqi security forces have also stepped up efforts against the Mahdi Army in the center-south region of Iraq, and captured more than 40 of the Iranian-backed Special Groups, a Mahdi Army splinter group. Sadr threatened to end the cease-fire after Iraqi troops took over the Mahdi Army-dominated neighborhood of Hayaniyah...

BAGHDAD – A Multi-National Division – Baghdad aerial weapons teams killed seven criminals and Soldiers seized weapons in separate incidents in eastern Baghdad April 19. The AWT engaged the criminals with a Hellfire missile and killed both criminals transporting weapons at approximately 6:30 p.m. in the Sadr City district of eastern Baghdad. The AWT also destroyed two machine guns with the attack. At approximately 8:27 p.m., Coalition forces were attacked by criminals with small-arms fire. They returned fire killing one. At approximately 8:39 p.m., in another section of the Sadr City district, Coalition forces engaged attacking criminals, killing one. At...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces captured a suspected Iranian-trained Special Groups commander and three other suspected criminals Sunday during operations in the Kadamiyah district of Baghdad. The targeted individual allegedly conducted attacks against Iraqi security and Coalition forces and was involved in extra-judicial killings in Baghdad. Reports also indicate the wanted individual was an associate of several senior-level criminal element leaders involved in attacks on Coalition forces. Intelligence led Coalition forces to the targeted individual’s location. En route, Coalition forces came under attack by small arms fire from unknown assailants. After arriving at the targeted individual’s location, Coalition forces came...

The Iraqi Army, backed by Coalition advisers and airpower, has launched an assault on the Mahdi Army-controlled neighborhood of Hayaniyah in the port city of Basrah, sparking heavy fighting. Multinational Forces Iraq described the action as "a new phase of operations" as part of the overall operation, called Knights' Charge, which was launched on March 25. The fighting in Basrah is said to be intense. The assault began at 6 AM local time when "British artillery and US aircraft released ordnance against known criminal rocket and mortar sites west of Hayaniyah," the Multinational Forces Iraq press release stated. "There were...

Basra, Apr 14, (VOI) - A chief of a renegade group of Mahdi army militia loyal to the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr reiterated on Monday their rejection to handing heavy weapons over to government forces, noting his movement arms would be “stashed to fight the occupier.” “The movement would not surrender heavy arms to security forces,” Sheikh Abdullah al-Ashmani, chief of 17/3 movement, a splinter group of Mahdi army militia, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI) over the phone. 17/3, or March 17, is a breakaway Shiite group from the Mahdi army militias loyal to anti-U.S. cleric...

As General David Petraeus briefs Congress this week on Iraq, it's clear his surge has achieved remarkable results. The most crucial is that the U.S. can no longer be defeated militarily in Iraq, which could not be said a year ago. The question now is whether Washington will squander these gains by withdrawing so quickly that we could still lose politically.Sixteen months after President Bush ordered the change in strategy, the surge has earned a place among the most important counteroffensives in U.S. military annals. When it began, al Qaeda dominated large swaths of central Iraq, Baghdad was a killing...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – A local tip led Iraqi Security Forces to the largest explosively-formed penetrator cache found to date in Multi-National Division – Center’s area of operation, April 2. The munitions were discovered in a 6-ton truck in a garage in al Qasim, Iraq. The cache contained more than 1000 EFP components, more than 3000 pounds of explosives and multiple 107 mm rockets and stands. The cache also included more than 200 C-4 demolition charges, more than 10,000 feet of detonation cord, more than 2,000 projectile boosters, 10 devices used to detonate improvised explosive devices, 250 PKC...

Summary of Action Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor For actions on Sept. 29, 2006 Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor, United States Navy, distinguished himself through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a Combat Advisor and Automatic Weapons Gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on 29 September 2006. He displayed great personal courage and exceptional bravery while conducting operations in enemy held territory at Ar Ramadi Iraq. During Operation Kentucky Jumper, a combined Coalition battalion clearance and...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, returning from the southern city of Basra, claimed Tuesday that a week-old operation against Shiite militias has been a "success" despite a cease-fire that did not disarm the gunmen and left him politically battered. The Shiite leader stopped short of declaring an end to the offensive that began a week ago Tuesday in Basra, sparking retaliatory clashes in Baghdad and other southern cities, and criticism that his government was unprepared for the fierce backlash. Militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, meanwhile, thanked his fighters for "defending your people, your land and your honor." Sporadic fighting...

In reviewing the action this week between Iraqi forces and Shiite militia, it's instructive to compare press accounts of this conflict to reports from the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel conflict in Lebanon, as posted or discussed on this website. Some examples: "Hizballah has proven to be a far more effective fighting machine than Israel anticipated, and the Israelis find themselves in a difficult situation: Continued military operations in Lebanon risk escalation and further destabilization, while a quick withdrawal would hand Hizballah a significant victory." Daveed Gartenstein-Ross ("DGR"), July 18, 2006. "Nasrallah admitted that it took five months of preparation to plan this...

Three-day curfew ends in Baghdad Baghdad's Sadr City is still burying its dead from the fighting Iraqi authorities have lifted a curfew in Baghdad, allowing people to leave their homes and easing most measures put in force on Thursday. Driving is still prohibited in three mainly Shia districts, including Sadr City, which saw some of the heaviest fighting last week. Mehdi Army militiamen have withdrawn from the streets, residents say. On Sunday, their leader, radical cleric Moqtada Sadr, ordered them to stop fighting Iraqi security forces. The fighting has claimed more than 240 lives across the country since Tuesday....

Government to lift Baghdad curfew Baghdad has been under curfew since Thursday The Iraqi government is due to lift a curfew in Baghdad, after Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr ordered his fighters off the streets of Iraqi cities. The government said the curfew would end at 0600 local time (0300 GMT), but a vehicle ban would remain in three Shia areas of the capital. Moqtada Sadr on Sunday told his Mehdi Army militias to stop fighting government troops. The fighting has claimed more than 240 lives across the country since Tuesday. 'Positive' move Moqtada Sadr's statement said: "Because of the...

BAGHDAD – A patrol consisting of 8th Iraqi Army Division Scouts and U.S. Special Forces Soldiers was attacked by criminal elements in southeastern Suwayrah March 29. Iraqi and U.S. Forces repelled the attack, killing 13 enemy fighters.Iraqi and U.S. Forces conducted a presence patrol in Suwayrah. During the patrol, an Iraqi woman approached the patrol and told them a criminal member lived in a nearby house. Iraqi and U.S. Forces searched the house, finding nine rocket propelled grenades and criminal propaganda.Shortly after continuing their patrol, a U.S. SF Soldier identified six armed individuals exiting a cargo truck, posturing to attack...