Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Maj. Gen. Bergner’s opening remarks:

While the Government of Iraq, in conjunction with the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police, are working on improving the provision of services for the people of Baghdad, Iraq still faces a tough fight as we saw last week in Balad Ruz, southeast of Baquba. There, a female suicide bomber detonated a vest loaded with explosives on a crowded city street. She was one of two suicide bombers that al-Qaeda in Iraq sent into the city that day to use indiscriminate violence, killing 31 and wounding 52 innocent people.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq’s tactics of sending women to conduct these ruthless acts of violence is another example of the nature of the enemy, its corrupt ideology, and the barbaric depths to which they are willing to sink.

However, the Iraqi Security Forces, Sons of Iraq, the tips provided by local citizens, and Coalition Forces are making it increasingly difficult to carry out these kinds of attacks. And accordingly, AQI terrorists are resorting to the use of women.

Iraqi Security Forces, supported by the Coalition, are aggressively pursuing al-Qaeda in Iraq. Concentrating on the areas around Mosul and the Diyala River Valley, they are uncovering terrorist facilities, disrupting their lines of communication, and capturing the leaders.

Since our last update on AQI, security forces detained 50 al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and facilitators around Mosul and other parts of Iraq. Ten of the most significant are shown on the slide. Two of the most significant among these are:

Ibrahim Ahmad Umar Nasir al Sabawi

• He was captured near Mosul

• AQI Emir of East Mosul

• Worked closely with Mosul’s foreign terrorist network and its former leader Jar Allah before he was killed.

Abbas’ ‘Abd Ahmad Hamad

• He was captured in Baghdad

• Made car-bombs for the South Karkh network

These are only two of the top 10 al-Qaeda in Iraq… many of whom are being identified by local residents who are courageously identifying these criminals in order to reject the violence and restore security to their communities.

While our operations target the leadership of these groups, Iraqi and Coalition Forces are simultaneously …and relentlessly… pursuing those who are firing rockets into neighborhoods in Baghdad. On Sunday, one of these groups fired more rockets into Baghdad and the following video shows what transpired as they prepared to launch a 240mm rocket from Sadr City.

As you can see, the Special Groups members are maneuvering a rocket rail into position. This rocket to be launched weighs approximately 250 pounds, 113 kgs, and can inflict damage to an area encompassing some 300 meters around the point of impact. As the team is moving the rocket rail, they are engaged by two hellfire missiles.

In the past few weeks over 700 rockets and mortars have been launched into Baghdad neighborhoods. Iraqi and Coalition Forces are responding appropriately to these rocket teams who position themselves close to public buildings and within residential neighborhoods, and thereby endanger innocent civilians. In this engagement as with all others, we are using precision and taking precautions to limit the impact on innocent civilians and property.

ISF INCREASING CAPACITY: WPN CACHES

Even as more indirect fire attacks are interdicted, others are being pre-empted by the Iraqi Security Forces as they are finding weapons caches that reduce the prospects of indirect-fire teams getting rockets to the launching rails.

In Karbala on Monday, the Karbala Operations Center Commander, Major General Jaw’dat, revealed a weapons cache discovered by a joint force of the Iraqi Police and Army which contained some 20,000 items of ammunition, explosives, and weapons.

Another recent cache in Karbala included 400 improvised explosive devices, 170 adhesive explosive devices, nine mortars, four antiaircraft missiles, 45 RPGs and 4000 rifles (AK-47s).

This past Sunday, in just one day, National Police and Iraqi Army units found four separate weapons caches in Basra and Bayji including a 240mm rocket, 27 rifles (AK-47s), 60 mines, mortar tubes, ammunition, 4 RPGs, IEDs, and various bomb-making materials.

Overall in Basra, Iraqi Security Forces have found some 39 mortar tubes, 1,800 mortars and artillery rounds, 600 rockets, 87 explosively formed penetrators, 300 IEDs, 3,500 lbs of explosives, and more than 1,100 RPGs.

On May 1, National Police discovered three separate caches in an abandoned mosque in the Rashid district of Baghdad. They found 10 explosively formed penetrators, more than 100 pounds of homemade explosives, a 105 mm rocket, 19 mortar rounds, 47 RPGs, and various other rounds of ammunition and bomb-making materials. The use of a mosque for weapons storage is another example of the nature of this enemy which subverts the sanctity of holy sites and endangers innocent civilians.

These efforts by the Iraqi Security Forces show their growing capacity and professionalism, which is being enabled by the training and professional development that is under way.

On April 25th, Iraqi Army trainers taught a class of Iraqi Police cadets advanced security tactics in Tarmiyah. The combined efforts of Iraqi Army, Police, and Sons of Iraq in this community have significantly reduced violence there over the past four months.

In Taji, the 36th Iraqi Army Brigade and the local Sons of Iraq continue to work together to provide a safe market for vendors and shoppers.

On April 29th, the Furat Local Police Station in the Mansour district of Baghdad, celebrated its grand opening. 400 policemen, including many former Sons of Iraq and recent graduates of the 10-week Furat Police Training Program, are now serving the community from that new station.

This past week, the Daughters of Iraq, a group of female security volunteers, began security operations at the Joint Security Station in Yusufiyah. They help manage the check point to the JSS, and insure that Iraqi women, who are filing claims with security forces, do not pose a threat.

In northern Iraq, 24 Iraqi Army medics participated in a three-day training event where they were evaluated in physical fitness, mental toughness, and a broad spectrum of field medicine expertise. Nineteen medics earned the Iraqi Expert Medical Trauma Badge.

LOCAL RECONSTRUCTION & GOVERNANCE

As security improves in areas of Iraq, local communities are building their infrastructure, revitalizing businesses, and establishing governing structures.

A recent example of this was the reopening of the Jamiat Market in Basra yesterday. The market, which cost over $1 million dollars, was built on the site of an old police station that was destroyed in 2006. The recent establishment of security in the past two weeks has allowed for the opening ceremony and the start of business.

In Fallujah, a wastewater treatment facility, the largest of its kind there, is being built to collect and treat raw sewage, and its capacity will support the city’s projected population through the year 2025.

In Hawr Rajab, a rural community south of Baghdad, poultry farmers received the first shipment of 12,000 chicks being delivered to jump start the region’s poultry industry which fell apart during the terrorist actions of 2007. This project, which marks the return of the local poultry businesses, is being facilitated by Coalition Forces and the local Provincial Reconstruction Team. It will provide an important boost to the local economy and employment in the area.

Last week in Fallujah, a local tribal sheikh participated in a live call-in radio show, the fifth of a series of shows discussing local governance. The radio station has hosted a series of local officials and leaders to answer questions from citizens about the local governance. The shows have been an effective medium to educate the community and improve access to, and transparency of government.

The community of Salman Pak recently inaugurated the revitalization of the Garden Market. After beautifying the exterior of the market, nearly $15,000 dollars in micro-grants were made to shop owners to improve their stores, buy inventory and help jump start economic activity for the community.

To that end, the Government of Iraq recently funded a $510 million dollar program, implemented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which provides further opportunities for small business owners to access the capital they need to restart their operations. Also, the Ministry of Industry and Minerals is granting bigger loans to medium and large businesses.

Iraqis are also gaining new technical skills. In Jisr Diyala, the Karada Vocational Training Center offers courses in masonry, welding, sewing, and electrical installation. Sixty-six students graduated recently from the Center.

The citizens in these communities are beginning to feel some benefits of improving security and the availability of economic development funds from their government and other sources. Much more is still required on the security and economic development front, but progress is being made, thanks to the courage of the Iraqi people, funding from their Government, and the partnership between the Iraqi Security Forces and the Coalition Forces.

With that we would like to take your questions….

Video and Slide Show At The Link Below

(MNFI)