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| Iraq |
| 30,000 Iraqi troops to attack al-Qaeda in Diyala |
| 2008-07-24 |
| Around 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen are poised to launch a military assault in Diyala province, a bastion of al-Qaeda fighters, from August 1, army and police officers say. "The operation is aimed at cleansing the region of insurgents, al-Qaeda and militias who are still there," a senior Iraqi military officer told AFP. He said around 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen from various parts of the country would take part in the crackdown in the central Iraq province starting on August 1. Senior Iraqi police officials in Baquba, the capital of Diyala, confirmed the assault would start on August 1. "It will be an operation led by the Iraqi army. The US army will probably only watch ... If they need help, we'll help them. If not, we will not do anything," a US military officer said. Iraq's interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf announced on July 13 that the Iraqi military would launch an assault in Diyala but did not specify the date. He said troops expected tough fighting during the assault. Diyala and its capital Baquba are Iraq's most dangerous regions with insurgents regularly carrying out attacks, including by female suicide bombers. The assault in Diyala follows similar Iraqi military operations in the southern provinces of Basra and Maysan, and the northern province of Nineveh. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Iran can muster about 12 Divisions in its army, and maybe 20 untrained IRGC infantry Divisions, that are pretty worthless except for human wave attacks. You're referring to the Baseej* (volunteers). The IRGC at this point probably has better training, funding and equipment than the regular Iranian military. They're also a lot more corrupt than the regular forces (something to keep in mind). * the Baseej also have at least two trained heavy-weapons units staioned in the north, reportedly battalion sized and trained for urban combat. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-07-24 16:20 |
| #1 The magic number of 30,000 means that this is not just a lark, it is a Corps-level operation. Nobody else in the ME, except Israel, can mount even Division-level operations. The best they can do are Brigade-level ops. Even though other nations organize by Divisions, they are paper Divisions. Four Brigades under Divisional command can usually whip twice their number of separate Brigades. Division ops are that powerful. And organizing two Division commands under Corps operations would make them almost unbeatable against separate Brigades. That is, the eight Brigades with Division and Corps command, could probably whip 12 or 15 equally armed separate Brigades. Iran can muster about 12 Divisions in its army, and maybe 20 untrained IRGC infantry Divisions, that are pretty worthless except for human wave attacks. If Iraq has its complement of 13 Divisions, of which it has three or four competent Corps commands, it will be able to kick seven bells out of the Iranian military and IRGC. And if we have given their pilots good training in the US, as I expect we have, maybe equipped with some good fighter aircraft, no contest. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-07-24 01:08 |