Wednesday, October 17, 2007
U.S. commanders to begin drawdown of troops in Diyala
Security
(AP) -- Commanders in Iraq have decided to begin the drawdown of U.S. forces in volatile Diyala province, marking a turning point in the U.S. military mission, The Associated Press has learned. Instead of replacing the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, which is returning to its home base at Fort Hood, Texas, in December, soldiers from another brigade in Salahuddin province next door will expand into Diyala, thereby broadening its area of responsibility, several officials said Tuesday.
In this way, the number of Army ground combat brigades in Iraq will fall from 20 to 19. This reflects President Bush's bid to begin reducing the American military force and shifting its role away from fighting the insurgency toward more support functions like training and advising Iraqi security forces.
The December move, which has not yet been announced by the Pentagon, was described to the AP by Col. Stephen Twitty, commander of the 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry, in a telephone interview Tuesday. It was confirmed by three other officials in Iraq, including Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, chief spokesman for the commanding general of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon.
The idea is to avoid vacating a contested area, like Diyala, which is northeast of Baghdad, while beginning Bush's announced reduction of at least 21,500 troops, of which 17,000 were sent to the Baghdad area last spring. The shift in Diyala in December could be a model for follow-on reductions next year, with a redrawing of the U.S. lines of responsibility so that a departing brigade has its battle space consumed by a remaining brigade. At the same time, Iraqi security forces would assume greater responsibility.
Diyala province is a battered landscape of warring tribes, fertile valleys and pockets of al-Qaida fighters. The sectarian and tribal chasms are wide. Commanders cited signs of substantial progress in the months since thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces stormed the provincial capital of Baqouba in June.
The unit leaving in December, the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry, has been in Iraq since October 2006. When it leaves, the 4th Stryker Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, now in Salahuddin province, will add Diyala to its area of responsibility.Donnelly said that even though the number of combat brigades in Iraq will drop by one with the departure of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry, the total number of soldiers in northern Iraq will remain almost constant. That is because later in December a unit arriving from Fort Hood - the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment - has substantially more soldiers than the unit it will replace.
In this way, the number of Army ground combat brigades in Iraq will fall from 20 to 19. This reflects President Bush's bid to begin reducing the American military force and shifting its role away from fighting the insurgency toward more support functions like training and advising Iraqi security forces.
The December move, which has not yet been announced by the Pentagon, was described to the AP by Col. Stephen Twitty, commander of the 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry, in a telephone interview Tuesday. It was confirmed by three other officials in Iraq, including Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, chief spokesman for the commanding general of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon.
The idea is to avoid vacating a contested area, like Diyala, which is northeast of Baghdad, while beginning Bush's announced reduction of at least 21,500 troops, of which 17,000 were sent to the Baghdad area last spring. The shift in Diyala in December could be a model for follow-on reductions next year, with a redrawing of the U.S. lines of responsibility so that a departing brigade has its battle space consumed by a remaining brigade. At the same time, Iraqi security forces would assume greater responsibility.
Diyala province is a battered landscape of warring tribes, fertile valleys and pockets of al-Qaida fighters. The sectarian and tribal chasms are wide. Commanders cited signs of substantial progress in the months since thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces stormed the provincial capital of Baqouba in June.
The unit leaving in December, the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry, has been in Iraq since October 2006. When it leaves, the 4th Stryker Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, now in Salahuddin province, will add Diyala to its area of responsibility.Donnelly said that even though the number of combat brigades in Iraq will drop by one with the departure of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry, the total number of soldiers in northern Iraq will remain almost constant. That is because later in December a unit arriving from Fort Hood - the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment - has substantially more soldiers than the unit it will replace.
Labels: Col. Stephen Twitty, Diyala, Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, Salahuddin, U.S. military
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Al Qaeda claims new methods after death of 9 U.S. soldiers
Security
(Gulf News) - An Al Qaida-linked group claimed that it used "new methods" in staging a double suicide bombing with dump trucks that blasted a paratrooper outpost in volatile Diyala province, killing nine Americans from the 82nd Airborne Division and wounding 20 on Tuesday. The attack, which also wounded an Iraqi civilian, underscored the ability of guerrillas of the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgency to wage war in Iraq four years after the US-led invasion, and it came in a region that has seen violence escalate since US and Iraqi troops launched the security crackdown in Baghdad.
The first truck hit outlying concrete barriers surrounding the outpost at Sadah and exploded after soldiers opened fire. A second truck rammed into the wrecked vehicles, dragging it and other rubble before it exploded 30 yards from two-story building housing the post's troops, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, US military spokesman in north Iraq. Neither vehicle penetrated the patrol base's inner perimeter, but the second powerful blast ruptured the wall of the building, collapsing its second floor and causing most of the soldier casualties, a US military statement said Wednesday.
A civilian house was destroyed and several smaller structures collapsed in a nearby neighborhood, the military said. A civilian hospital and a mosque about 200 meters from the patrol base also were damaged. Fifteen of the 20 wounded US soldiers later returned to duty, the military said.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, said the style of the attack fit the pattern of Al Qaida but he said an investigation was under way into who was to blame and exactly what happened. When asked about the "new methods" claimed by the group, he said the military was on heightened alert for dump trucks as they had been used in several recent high-profile attacks. "The use of dump trucks seems to be a recurring theme recently in the last few weeks," he said.
The first truck hit outlying concrete barriers surrounding the outpost at Sadah and exploded after soldiers opened fire. A second truck rammed into the wrecked vehicles, dragging it and other rubble before it exploded 30 yards from two-story building housing the post's troops, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, US military spokesman in north Iraq. Neither vehicle penetrated the patrol base's inner perimeter, but the second powerful blast ruptured the wall of the building, collapsing its second floor and causing most of the soldier casualties, a US military statement said Wednesday.
A civilian house was destroyed and several smaller structures collapsed in a nearby neighborhood, the military said. A civilian hospital and a mosque about 200 meters from the patrol base also were damaged. Fifteen of the 20 wounded US soldiers later returned to duty, the military said.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, said the style of the attack fit the pattern of Al Qaida but he said an investigation was under way into who was to blame and exactly what happened. When asked about the "new methods" claimed by the group, he said the military was on heightened alert for dump trucks as they had been used in several recent high-profile attacks. "The use of dump trucks seems to be a recurring theme recently in the last few weeks," he said.
Labels: 82nd Airborne Division, Al Qaeda, Diyala, dump trucks, Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, Sadah, truck bomb
