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An Iraqi mayor has written a dramatic letter to the commander of coalition forces, praising U.S. troops as "lion hearts" and "knights" for liberating his city from al Qaeda terrorists. The emotional letter from gallant Tal' Afar Mayor Najim Abdullah Abid Al-Jibouri to Gen. George Casey is circulating among military families over the Internet and has created a surge of pride in troops. Al-Jibouri's letter calls soldiers of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, who carried out recent anti-terrorist operations in Tal' Afar "lion hearts," who "bristle with the confidence of knights in a bygone era." He said the troops transformed his...

The US 3rd Armored Cavalry regiment is leaving Tal Afar [Iraq] in a month or so. They are cycling back home to their families after a year in Iraq. They will be replaced by the 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division. But the mayor of Tal Afar doesn't want them to go. "For [the 3rd ACR] to leave is like a surgeon leaving in the middle of an operation...We don't doubt there are many fine officers in the American army, but during these months, Colonel Hickey and I have created a relationship where I know what he will say...

In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall’ Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life. To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months. To those who spread smiles on the faces of our children, and gave us restored hope, through their personal sacrifice and brave fighting, and gave new life to...

Iraqi mayor thanks American troops The following comes from Col. Ren Hart. We know this is happening – we just don't hear it enough. John B. Dwyer As I'm sure you know, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment has been serving in Iraq (its second deployment there) for the past year. As the regiment prepares to come home, it has received the letter pasted below. I believe many of you will find it an interesting counterpoise to much of what we read in the press. From:  Mayor of Tall 'Afar, Ninewa, Iraq In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous...

A letter from the Mayor of Tall 'Afar, Iraq to the men and women of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and their families. In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall’ Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life. To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months. To those who spread smiles...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2006 – The efforts of the U.S. military and Iraqi security forces in Tal Afar, Iraq, have transformed the region from an insurgent hotbed to an area of life and hope with restored security, a U.S. military commander in the area said today. When the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment arrived in the region in summer 2005, Tal Afar was a support base that insurgents used to organize, train and equip terrorist cells, the unit's commander, Army Col. H.R. McMaster, said in a live news conference from Tikrit. Insurgents were drawn to the area because of its access...

A US commander has declared a "fragile victory" in Tal Afar overnight four months after a US-led military operation to break the hold of Al-Qaeda and other insurgents in the northern Iraqi city. Colonel H.R. McMaster said ethnic strife between Turkomen Shiite and Sunni communities is ending, and residents are now cooperating with authorities to keep insurgents from slipping back. The army colonel, who commands the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, said the turnaround marks a major physical and psychological defeat for the insurgents, who lost a vital safe haven near the Syrian border. "But, certainly, it's a fragile victory," he...

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TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, Jan. 6, 2006) – U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) met with Soldiers from his home state and local Iraqi leaders during a visit to the northwestern Iraqi city of Tal Afar Jan. 4. Reed was hosted by the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, headquartered at Forward Operating Base Sykes. After receiving an operational update from the regiment, the former Army Ranger met with several troopers from his home state. Reed’s visit surprised one of his constituents, Pfc. Christopher Wright, a 20-year-old tank crewman from Ashaway, R.I. “I was pretty surprised when my first sergeant came to...

Tal Afar Sees Progress With Water Network Completed By Polli Barnes Keller Special to American Forces Press Service MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2005 – Workers have completed the water network in Tal Afar, Iraq, an $85,000 project that improved the water supply of 115 homes, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials reported. The Corps of Engineers awarded the contract and oversaw work quality. "This project is unique, because the work was awarded to a state-owned contractor," said Bill Hood, senior construction manager, USACE Gulf Region North. "It was an opportunity to promote goodwill between the (local) director of water and...

MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2005 – Workers have completed the water network in Tal Afar, Iraq, an $85,000 project that improved the water supply of 115 homes, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials reported. The Corps of Engineers awarded the contract and oversaw work quality. "This project is unique, because the work was awarded to a state-owned contractor," said Bill Hood, senior construction manager, USACE Gulf Region North. "It was an opportunity to promote goodwill between the (local) director of water and the USACE by using a local contractor. The final outcome is we received a quality product at lower-than-normal...

TAL AFAR, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 29, 2005) — In a ribbon cutting ceremony today, Tal Afar Police Chief Gen. Fawaz Mahmoud Issa officially opened the new Al Salam Police Station in Tal Afar. The event marked a milestone for Tal Afar’s Police Department as part of efforts to restore the city’s quality of life and security. Last year terrorists destroyed a police station in Tal Afar, but the opening of the new station represents a resurrection of the police force according to city officials. “We’re very thankful for the Coalition Forces for their support in building this police...

Iraqis in former rebel stronghold now cheer American soldiers By Oliver Poole in Tal Afar (Filed: 19/12/2005) In the low-slung concrete buildings of Tal Afar, a city built on dirty sand and mud, George W Bush sees the potential for military success in Iraq. In recent weeks it has been one case study the American president has consistently cited in order to buttress the rhetoric that the insurgency, and the killing, can be ended. Tal Afar was the site of the largest military operation of 2005, when 8,000 US and Iraqi troops reclaimed it from armed groups. It has since...

  For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryOctober 1, 2005 President's Radio Address            Audio      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I met with the generals who are overseeing our efforts in Iraq -- Generals Abizaid and Casey -- to discuss our strategy for victory. They updated me on the operations in Baghdad last weekend in which Iraqi and coalition forces tracked down and killed the second most wanted al Qaeda leader in Iraq. This brutal killer was a top lieutenant of the terrorist Zarqawi. He was also one of the terrorists responsible for the recent wave of attacks...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Sept. 23, 2005) — The newest addition to the Army’s artillery arsenal was successfully fired this month during Operation Restoring Rights in Tal Afar, Iraq, and Operation Sayaid in Iraq’s Al Anbar Province. The Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System destroyed two insurgent strongholds from a distance of more than 50 kilometers away. Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery Regiment fired eight guided rockets in Tal Afar Sept. 9 and 10, killing 48 insurgents, said Maj. Jeremy McGuire, deputy of operations, Force Field Artillery, Multi-National Corps – Iraq. Battery A, 3-13 FAR fired another six rockets...

Release A050918c BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces conducted raids on high-level al-Qaida in Iraq safe houses in the city of Tall Afar Sept. 18, killing numerous terrorists and capturing four. Upon entering the first safe house, Coalition forces were engaged by terrorists employing small arms; Coalition forces returned fire, killing four terrorists and detaining four. Alerted by the firefight, terrorists from a second safe house opened fire on the Coalition forces. After securing the first target, Coalition forces then turned their attention to the second safe house, where they killed two more terrorists. Coalition forces called in close air support...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2005 – The commander of coalition troops in Iraq today described "an extremely successful tactical operation" in which U.S. and Iraqi troops all but cleared Tal Afar, Iraq, of foreign fighters. Tal Afar is one of two major transit zones for foreign fighters coming into Iraq, Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said from Baghdad today. The other route is through the Euphrates River Valley, farther south. U.S. troops from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and Iraqi forces from the 3rd Iraqi Army Division have been working for two months to plan...

Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough in today’s Washington Times provide the perspective of Army Colonel H.R. McMaster, who is leading the campaign in Iraq to retake the border town of Tal Afar, on the Islamo-fascists he is confronting: Col. McMaster appeared in the Pentagon this week via a video hookup to describe how his 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, joined by 3rd Iraqi Army Division, routed most of the extremists. But it was his description of how the enemy occupied their safe haven that got the most attention. Col. McMaster told of beheadings, gunshot killings, a booby-trapped dead child and kidnappings....

U.S. troops find chemical weapon in Tal Afar stronghold U.S. commander derides enemy’s ‘unscrupulous’ actions ARLINGTON, Va. — While taking down the insurgent stronghold of Tal Afar, U.S. troops discovered a crude chemical weapon, the commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment said Tuesday. The troops had just entered a building when their ears and throats started to burn, said Army Col. H.R. McMaster in a briefing to reporters. U.S. forces determined insurgents had rigged the chemicals to explosives, McMaster said, though he did not identify the type of chemical. “We evacuated the civilians from the area and we demolished...

...There are good reasons to believe the current operation in Tal Afar -- a largely Turkoman city near the Syrian border -- will be a model of things to come. Previous attempts to clean the terrorists out of Tal Afar and other cities in northern and western Iraq have too often seen the insurgents melt away only to return when the U.S. spearhead withdrew. This time Iraqis are leading the fight and, most important, many will stay so the people of Tal Afar can begin to believe they can live free of terrorist intimidation. As of last night, a force...