Massive New Offensive Planned Against Al Qaeda
Baghdad, Dec 30, (VOI) – The Multi-National Force and the Iraqi army and police are preparing to launch a large-scale offensive to crack down on al-Qaeda Organization north of Baghdad in two weeks’ time, a high-ranking U.S. army official said on Sunday.
“In 2008, joint U.S.-Iraqi forces would stage large-scale operation to crack down on al-Qaeda organization in Diala river basin, Mosul and along the area the network was operating,” Admiral Gregory Smith, the U.S. army communications officer, said in a press conference held in Baghdad.
The official declined to give further information about the size of troops launching the offensive for secrecy reasons.
Smith pointed out that security operations “led to the capture of three al-Qaeda operatives in southern Baghdad districts and the uncovering of two large weapons caches containing bombs, hand grenades and material used to make explosive devices.”
He added that Iraqi courts convicted the so-called Mohamed Issa Al-Matyuti, who is accused of bombing areas inhabited by Iraq’s ethnic religious Yazidi minority in Mosul, not detailing the verdicts handed down by the court.
The Iraqi Red Crescent chief said the death toll of the bombing that took place in al-Qahtaniya and al-Jazira in northern Iraq’s Sinjar district amounted to 520.
Asked about the Turkish raids on Northern Iraqi districts, Smith said “the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) posed a threat to Iraq, Turkey and the U.S.”
He added “the U.S. supports Turkey’s crackdown on terrorist PKK strongholds and cooperates with the sides concerned – Iraq and Turkey – and in the meantime, urges a solution for the PKK presence in northern Iraq.”
As for the transfer of security from MNF troops to Iraq’s security forces, the U.S. military official said it would “depend on the downtrend in levels of violence and the improvement in Iraq’s security forces’ performance in 2008.”
The Iraqi interior ministry said on Saturday that it was preparing for the transfer of Baghdad’s security responsibilities in August 2008.
The director of the ministry’s National Command Center, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Kareem Khalaf, attributed the significant decline in violence to Baghdad’s Fard al-Qanoon (law imposing) security plan.
Khalaf noted that armed operations dropped by 70%-90% from June to December this year.
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What is this guy thinking? Why tip the hand of the insurgents with a news conference about an offensive, and then claim he is concerned about secrecy!!??? He just guaranteed that the “offensive” will be a dud, except for those insurgents who never talk to anyone.
December 31st, 2007 at 7:28 am“Admiral Gregory Smith, the U.S. army communications officer, said in a press conference held in Baghdad.”
i didn’t know the U.S. Army had admirals
December 31st, 2007 at 8:04 amGOOD LUCK! I hope the ’surprise’ works. Why do we always have to let our enemies know what the hell we are doing.
December 31st, 2007 at 8:28 amWMD–give a guy months and months to hide shit, and then try to find it. Give the enemy time to fortify and then try to surprise them with an attack. GOOD LUCK!
Just shut up and shoot!
Have faith in the military leaders bro.
Maybe the announced offensive makes certain jihadis make a move while our eyes are on them…
Maybe the offensive is annouced to start in two weeks and actually starts in two days after some ignorant creep jihadis fall for the bait and expose themselves…
This strategy is part war and part poker game. We have the winning hand and the only game now is to get these jihadi assholes to go all in. Then we cream them AGAIN, and AGAIN and AGAIN til they’re gone.
Game over jihadi, you’re done.
December 31st, 2007 at 11:47 am