Iraqi Security Forces foil suicide car bomb attack

14 Jun 07
Multi-National Division-Baghdad Public Affairs Office.

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Security Forces prevented a suicide car bomb attack on a Coalition forces combat outpost in Khan Bani Sa’ad, located in the Diyala province, Tuesday.

Iraqi Army Soldiers received a tip and description of a potential suicide vehicle bomb and engaged the vehicle with small-arms fire as it approached the outpost. The vehicle detonated prematurely, before it could reach the outer perimeter.

Two Coalition force Soldiers received minor wounds and were treated on the scene.

“The truly amazing thing is that the Iraqi Soldiers, who are mostly Shia, got the tip from local Sunnis, who had seen a suspicious vehicle driven by masked men traveling towards the outpost,” said Lt. Col. Marshall Dougherty, commander, 2nd squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.

“This is yet another example of the people of Iraq refusing to allow terrorists to destroy their lives,” Dougherty said.

The tip from the Iraqi citizen allowed the Iraqi Army to seek out and destroy the suicide vehicle borne explosive device, saving the lives of the countless number of casualties both Iraqi and Coalition, said Dougherty.

The Iraqi and Coalition forces have been engaging the local population of Khan Bani Sa’ad for the last several weeks in an effort to gain their trust.

“It’s obvious that despite their tribal or ethnic differences, the people of Khan Bani Sa’ad have come to trust their Iraq Security Forces and no longer will tolerate insurgent violence here,” said Dougherty. “Today was a good day.”

Immediately following the explosion, Iraqi Army Soldiers worked with Iraqi Police to secure the area and collect evidence.

“I could not be more proud of the Iraqi Security Forces today,” Dougherty said.

Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition forces continue to work together in order to gain the trust of the Iraqi people.

“Troop B, 2-1 Cav. Regt. lives and works in the combat outpost with Iraqi Army Soldiers,” Dougherty said.

Tips from Iraqi locals shows the trust they are gaining in the Iraqi Security Forces and their continued dedication to a safe and secure Iraq.

Photo - U.S. Army Spc. Marquis Dawkins, an infantryman assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, surveys more than 120 five-gallon cans of nitric acid, a component used to make bombs, discovered at a bomb-making “factory” in Baghdad’s East Rashid District Monday. Every cache found by Iraqi troops and Coalition forces helps protect the population from future attacks. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ben Washburn, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs.

Concrete Barriers Safeguard Adhamiyah Residents in Baghdad

6-Jun-07
By 2nd Brigade Combat Team
82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs.

BAGHDAD — The thick chains attaching the “T-Wall” barrier to the crane shuddered as the slab of heavy concrete was lifted into the air. The crane operator worked his control stick, first swinging the barrier through the air, and then slowly lowering it into place.

As the 14,000 pounds of concrete settled onto the ground with a grinding crunch, the project to secure a neighborhood in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah District behind miles of protective barriers came to an end in the darkness of early morning on May 28.

The project, overseen by the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, involved placing temporary barriers and checkpoints around a three-mile area of Adhamiyah in order to protect the local populace from attacks by insurgents.

“This was our biggest project to date,” said Lt. Eric Brumfield, of Visalia, Calif., a platoon leader with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team’s 407th Support Battalion, which oversaw the project’s construction. “It was a massive undertaking.”

Almost every night for two months, paratroopers from the 407th battalion left their base and convoyed to Adhamiyah, putting in as many as 70 of the huge barriers each night alongside the main road ringing the neighborhood.

“It was probably more labor intensive than anything we’ve done,” said Capt. Priscilla Smoot, of Miami, the commander of Company A, which did the majority of the work for the project.

Brumfield said he was shocked to read early media reports criticizing the project as a Berlin Wall-like partition dividing neighbor from neighbor. In reality, the wall was a simple security measure, he said.

“It’s just like driving at home where you have barriers beside the highway. It’s no different than that,” he said.

In some sections, the project simply improved on roadblocks that residents had already emplaced themselves, said 1st Lt. Jacob Allen, of New Kent, Va., a platoon leader with Company A. Allen also pointed out that the wall hasn’t restricted foot movement at all in the area.

“There are plenty of places to walk. What this has blocked off is movement of (vehicle-borne) explosives,” he said.

Brumfield said that despite the criticism of the project, his paratroopers are proud of what they accomplished.

“We’re exhausted. We’re tired of seeing the wall every night. But in the end, we did it. We were able to fight through the IEDs and the publicity and everything else and get it done,” Brumfield said.

“Now it’s time to step back and start looking at the statistics. We have to let time tell if it’s going to work,” he said.

So far, the results have been positive. Killings are down 61 percent in Adhamiyah between the beginning of April, when construction began, and May 28, when it ended, according to reports compiled by the 2nd BCT.

“Since we started building the wall, we’ve already seen a noticeable decrease in violence,” said Capt. Jared Purcell, of Lake Orion, Mich., the public affairs officer for 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, whose unit operates in the area. Purcell said his unit will continue to closely track the effects of the safe neighborhood project.

“We will be in the community with an ear open as to how people feel about the wall, as well as how it is improving security,” Purcell said. “We’re constantly going to be re-evaluating the wall to make sure it is providing maximum security with minimum disruptions to people’s lives.”

Photo - Iraqi police commander Lt. Col. Ahmed Abdullah, an interpreter, and 1st Sgt. Phong Tran of Richmond, Va., survey a section of the protective wall being installed in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah District as part of a Safe Neighborhood project during a joint patrol, May 24, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mike Pryor.