The headline from the AP, “Troops Seeing Victories Over Militants“:
U.S. forces said they waged successful battles against both Sunni and Shiite extremists in the north and south of Baghdad, and announced Dec. 27 they had seized two men possibly linked to the capture of three American Soldiers earlier this year. The battles came as the military seeks to take advantage of the improving security situation in Iraq to carry out targeted operations against extremist groups and the foreign-led al-Qaida in Iraq. In recent weeks, the Americans have been fighting al-Qaida extremists in the area around Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of the capital. The battle against insurgent groups has steadily moved away from Anbar province and Baghdad, and is now focused on the fringes of Diyala province. “Coalition forces killed 12 terrorists, detained 37 suspects and freed one hostage during a multi-day operation from Dec. 22 to 25 to disrupt al-Qaida networks near Muqdadiyah in the Diyala River Valley,” an announcement said. In another operation targeting a Shiite extremist group southeast of Baghdad, U.S. military forces killed 11 militants on Thursday. They were reportedly members of an extremist group that had broken away from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army.
The article goes on to say that Sadr has promised to sever ties with any elements of his militia that do not keep the cease fire with Coalition forces–which confirms what we’ve heard from the commanders on the ground that there is no evidence Sadr plans to resume hostilities. And the trend continues…
From icasualties.org.
