Operation Iron Boston targets al-Qaeda Hideout in Sa'id Abdullah Corridor

Iraqi Army and Soldiers from Companies C and D, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), conducted a daytime air assaulted into the Sa'id Abdullah Corridor where they detained 24 individuals:

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Army Soldiers detained 24 individuals Jan. 27 during the joint air assault operation, ‘Iron Boston’, with Coalition Forces in the Sa’id Abdullah Corridor.

Iraqi Army and Soldiers from Companies C and D, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), conducted a daytime air assaulted into the area.

Keeping the enemy guessing is exactly what Pittsburgh native Capt. Michael Starz, commander of Company C, wanted to do.

“Every air assault we do is different,” Starz said. “There’s not a single time that we do a big operation that it looks the same to the enemy. We never want to be predictable.”

Five of the men were detained after Iraqi Soldiers discovered them hiding in a hole. Starz described the hole as being well constructed, deep and big enough to fit 10 men.

Kiowa helicopters provided close-air support to ensure the area was safe for U.S. and Iraqi troops. While ground forces moved in and out of houses, the Kiowas made low-level passes and fired rockets to deter any would-be attackers.

Insurgent activity has been prominent in the corridor.

“The Sa’id Abdullah Corridor is where all the al-Qaeda groups in this region were controlled from,” Starz said. “It’s where their leadership was present, where their logistics occurred – basically they controlled the movement of foreign fighters into the area from this location.”

Historically, the Sa’id Abdulla Corridor has been the borderline between operating environments for Coalition Forces and Iraqi Security Forces.

Being on the border may have led insurgents to believe they could avoid detection.

Starz said his unit communicates closely with 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT), the neighboring battalion to 3-187th Inf. Regt. “Between all the Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces operating in the area, it’s no longer a safe haven for them.”