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.
Posted on 04/28/2008 9:44:47 AM PDT by SandRat
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 considering the threat and many different organizations that were involved,” said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Robert Washington, military advisor for the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Division. Additionally, the major said the Iraqi Army found a large weapons cache in a school during the search.
In the two days, they found substantial amounts of 60 mm mortars, 105 mm mortars, 120 mm mortars, rocket-propelled grenade rounds, RPG tubes, artillery shells for use as improvised explosive devices, homemade grenades, heavy machine guns, various rockets, including a 220 mm rocket, large amounts of small-arms ammunition and various mortar tube sizes.
“We were told it was a stronghold,” Washington said. “Possible threats were IEDs, small-arms fire, snipers and a house-borne IED where they rig a house to blow up when searched,” he added. “The Iraqi Army worked well. They met timelines and controlled their forces.
“They are continuing their efforts in humanitarian aid and intelligence gathering with the local populations,” Washington said.
(Multi-National Division - Southeast PAO)
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