A combined force of more than 600 Afghan and International Security Assistance Forces are conducting operations against al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents in Kunar province June 27.

At present, a number of insurgents have been killed in the attack against al-Qaida and Taliban leadership in the area.

ISAF and Afghan authorities confirm three of their forces have died in the battle, including two U.S. service members.

“We will continue to take the fight to the enemy alongside our Afghan partners,” said Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, commanding general of Regional Command-East. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones in the fight against our common enemies, the Taliban and al-Qaida”.

The combined force has taken precautions to prevent collateral damage, and ISAF has no reports of injuries to civilians.

The fighting is ongoing.

DVIDS

Afghan and coalition forces killed 36 enemy fighters and detained eight suspects in operations in Afghanistan today and yesterday, military officials reported.

In operations today [March 20 2009]:

– Afghan forces, with a small contingent of coalition forces, killed a man who engaged them during the clearance portion of an operation in the Marah Warah district of Konar province. The operation’s goal was to disrupt bombing and foreign-fighter networks near Afghanistan’s eastern border. Three suspected militants were detained. The force destroyed weapons and bomb-making materials found at the site and protected six women and six children during the operation.

– Afghan and coalition forces killed three militants and detained one suspect during an operation targeting mid- and high-level members of a Kabul-based bomb-making cell operating in Lowgar province. In the province’s Baraki Barak district, the combined force assaulted a compound where militants were reported to be staying. The force called for noncombatants to come out of the buildings, and women and children were moved to safety. During a search, an armed man hiding behind livestock was killed. Forces pursued two militants seen moving from the roof of a building on to an adjacent compound and called for their surrender. The militants barricaded themselves inside a building, and the force engaged and killed them. Seven women and 14 children were protected.

In operations yesterday:

– Afghan soldiers advised by coalition forces killed 30 armed militants in Helmand province’s Gereshk district. Numerous armed militants engaged an Afghan-led reconnaissance patrol with heavy small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. The combined force moved forward, and a firefight ensued when militants re-engaged the patrol with small-arms and RPG fire. After positively identifying the enemy fighting position and assuring there were no noncombatants in the area, the combined forces returned fire with small-arms and close-air support, killing 30 militants. An Afghan soldier suffered minor injuries during the engagement and was treated at a nearby coalition medical facility.

– Afghan forces, with a small contingent of coalition forces, conducted operations in the Bati Kowt district of Nangarhar province to disable an al-Qaida cell that facilitates suicide bombers and plans roadside-bomb attacks. Two armed militants engaged the force and were killed, and four suspected militants were detained. The force found two AK-47 assault rifles, a Marakov pistol and a vehicle that had been altered to be used as a bomb. The vehicle was removed from the compound. The forces also found about 15 pounds of opium, which they destroyed on site, and protected 11 women and 36 children during the operation.

DoD

Iraqi army soldiers operating in an area shared by Regimental Combat Team 1, escorted local sheiks and tribal leaders across a newly constructed bridge in the Bagharra region of Iraq, Aug. 19, 2008.

The passage marked the re-opening of the Salem Bridge, an important link in connecting local citizens with cities on the other side of the Thar Thar Canal. Insurgents had demolished the original bridge with improvised explosive devices more than a year ago, forcing locals to travel nearly five hours to cross the canal.

“Before this bridge opened, the people were suffering,” said 2nd Lt. Nasser Kazzoy, scout platoon commander with the Iraqi army. “Now that the bridge is open, people can cross the bridge and get to the other side in five minutes.”

Bagharra, a remote area with vast open desert, is home to mostly farmers who earn their living raising crops and livestock. They depended on passage over the canal to import farming supplies and to export their harvests to nearby cities. Insurgent’s destruction of the original bridge forced many families in the area to move because of lost profits.

“When al-Qaida came, they realized that the bridge was dangerous to them and blew it up to cut off the supply going across,” said Kazzoy. “We have been chasing al-Qaida across this area and are working to keep the new bridge safe.”

Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Quick Reaction Force, 1st Iraqi Division, and Marines with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, provided security for the ceremonial walk across the bridge.

The re-construction included entry control points to allow the IA to continue security efforts near the bridge, where they will check vehicles and personnel for weapons and bomb-making material.

Marines with Military Transition Team 2 Bn. 2 QRF Team 1, Multi-National Force – West, credited IA soldiers for their lead in the project.

“This has been an effort purely initiated by the IAs and will help stimulate the local economy and increase the quality of life for people living in the area,” said 1st Lt. Emre I. Albayrak, admin advisor, MiTT-2-2-1. “These guys are doing an amazing job keeping the area secure.”

DVIDS
By Cpl. Chris T. Mann
Regimental Combat Team 1

The Provincial Government Center for al Anbar, located in the heart of downtown Ramadi, was a vicious and violent battleground for much of the last five years.

But as the city emerges from the violence that has plagued it for so long, thanks in part to Iraqi and coalition forces’ security efforts, the center now stands as a as a symbol of peace and stability. Governmental leaders operate there daily, overseeing a variety of departments critical in continuing the region’s growth.

First Sergeant Patrick J. Dostal, the Headquarters and Service Company first sergeant with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, is on his second tour in the city and is overwhelmed by the center’s development since his first tour in 2006.

“The government center now is a totally different place,” Dostal said. “Before, you couldn’t even see the actual building. You could tell there was some type of structure there, but that was it.”

Dostal said the government center was a key target for insurgents because of its strategic and symbolic importance. They often lurked on the outskirts of the building waging a constant battle, eager to disrupt government operations. The building was so heavily fortified, he said, it could not be seen from nearby streets and the surrounding area was a sea of ruins composed of collapsed buildings and piles of concrete.

“We received plenty of small arms fire, indirect fire, rocket-propelled grenade attacks and roadside bombs always popped up,” said Dostal.

In the last five years, the government center and the area around it has undergone many changes during efforts to secure the building. The concertina wire and large sandbag reinforcements surrounding the area have been removed.

One of the most notable changes resulted from Iraqi government and coalition forces officials’ decision to bulldoze approximately three blocks of rubble around the center.

“All of the abandoned shops, and a building we called the Rashid hotel in front of the [center], were bulldozed,” Dostal said. “The insurgents would shoot at us from those spots. Bulldozing around the government center gave us more room to protect [the center]. The attacks still happened, but not as often.”

The transformation the government center has undergone can also be attributed to the citizens’ revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq.

“The citizens stood up to al-Qaida and now Ramadi is pretty quiet,” said Cpl. Abdias Betancourth, a motor transportation operator with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, who also served in the city in 2006. “The people are determined to get back to a sense of normalcy.”

With the reduction in violence, increased cooperation between Iraqis and coalition forces, and a functioning provincial government operating safely inside the confines of the government center, the city of Ramadi has taken a turn for the better.

DVIDS
By Lance Cpl. Casey Jones
Regimental Combat Team 1