25 Terrorists Captured in Operation "Iron Blitz"

Removing insurgents from the streets is having an effect on the level of violence being perpetrated on the civilain population IRaq as well as US Forces operating in and near Baghdad. Recently US Forces removed 25 terrorists from the streets in an Operation dubbed “Iron Blitz”:

CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Over the past 30 days, Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers captured 25 suspected insurgents during Operation “Iron Blitz” northwest of the Iraqi capital.

The suspects, many believed to be tied to insurgent cells responsible for the emplacement of improvised explosive devices, sectarian violence and indirect fire attacks, were captured by Soldiers of the 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

“These (terrorists) were targeting not only Coalition Forces and Iraqi Security Forces, they were targeting the Iraqi people to escalate sectarian tensions in the area,” said Lt. Col. Peter Andrysiak, deputy commander of the Ironhorse Brigade. "The capture of these individuals has lead to a significant decrease in insurgent activity in our area.”

The Ironhorse Brigade was able to target insurgents successfully in northwestern Baghdad neighborhoods thanks to an influx of support, in the form of tips, from the local community, Andrysiak said.

And what helped this operation succeed? According to Lt. Col. Peter Andrysiak it was: "Local volunteers who have recently stepped forward to provide security in their own neighborhoods also provided much of the information used to capture these individuals." The grassroots effort by tribal leaders in Abu Ghraib, Taji, and Saab al Bor areas, to reject Al Qaeda and work to reconcile with the government of Iraq, Iraqi Security Forces and the Coalition, is bearing fruit and assisting US Forces as well as Iraqi MIlitary units in putting an end to sectarian violence in those communities.