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U.S. finishing al Qaeda sweep in Diyala
 U.S. military forces say they have largely completed combat operations and are working to consolidate their gains after a six-day push into the so-called "Bread Basket" area of Diyala province. Clearing operations still are under way in the area, military authorities said, but day-to-day security will be handed over increasingly to Iraqi army and police units. A network of Concerned Local Citizens groups an armed neighborhood-watch organization also will be buttressed and expanded. "Although decisive, the combat operations will likely not have as great of an effect as the next phases," said Lt. Col. James Brown, executive officer of 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 2nd Infantry Division. He said efforts would focus on establishing stronger connections between villages surrounding the city of Muqdadiyah and Iraq's central government.The Bread Basket, an area of about 110 square miles in the northern Diyala River Valley, had long been an al Qaeda stronghold and was dubbed the Islamic Republic of Iraq by the militants. Militants had been centered in Baqouba, the provincial capital about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. When the surge of U.S. forces pushed al Qaeda out of Baghdad last year, the organization retreated to Baqouba; when pushed out of Baqouba, it retreated to the Bread Basket, where villagers now describe having gone through a reign of terror. Posted by: Fred 2008-01-15 |
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