Anti-insurgent efforts in restive city of Ramadi ‘right on track’

Soldiers with the 1st Armor Division stand watch in Ramadi. The commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, said July 14 that anti-insurgent efforts are beginning to take the city back from the insurgents. (file photo).

BAGHDAD – Anti-insurgent efforts in the Iraqi city of Ramadi are beginning to bear fruit, a senior U.S. military officer said July 14 during the weekly Pentagon press briefing.

"We're in a transition point in the fight for Ramadi. There's still a lot to do, but we're on the right track," Col. Sean B. MacFarland said from his headquarters in Ramadi during a satellite teleconference with Pentagon reporters.

MacFarland is the commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. The 1st Brigade assists Iraqi Soldiers and Police in defeating insurgents within the unit's area of operations, he said.

Ramadi is the capital of al-Anbar province, west of Baghdad. The 1st BCT contains members from all of the U.S. armed services, MacFarland said.

The 1st BCT was initially deployed to the Tal Afar area in western Ninevah province in January, MacFarland said. The unit moved and took up anti-insurgent operations in al-Anbar on June 11, he said.

MacFarland said his troops work in partnership with Iraqi Soldiers and Police in the area.
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