TAJI RAID � U.S. Army soldiers with Comanche Company, 7th Battalion, 10th Cavalry Unit, 4th Infantry Division and the Iraqi army 9th Mechanized Brigade carry out a raid in Taji, Iraq, in an attempt to find hidden weapons and thwart insurgent activity Jan. 20, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill

Iraqi, Coalition Troops Capture Terrorists, Weapons

Iraqi, Coalition Troops Capture Terrorists, Weapons
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2006 – Iraqi and coalition troops have teamed up to capture at least five insurgent fighters and several weapons caches in the past two days.
Combined forces detained two suspected terrorists in connection with recent improvised-explosive-device attacks in Diyarah during a raid this morning. Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Iraqi Army Division, and U.S. soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, raided two houses suspected of harboring terrorists.

Also today, U.S. soldiers from 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd BCT, discovered an IED west of Iskandariyah. The IED consisted of a 155 mm round, a long-range cordless telephone, and a detonator with wires protruding from the round. Explosive ordnance disposal soldiers disabled the weapon.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, and Coalition forces found six caches and capture three insurgents during patrols of various cities yesterday.


The six caches consisted of 15 pounds of explosives, two rocket-propelled-grenade rounds, 21 RPG boosters, six RPG motors, 18 RPG warheads, 400 .50-caliber rounds, about 700 of other sized rounds, one mortar sight, 280 mortar fuses, three mortar fins, one mortar base plate, 75 artillery fuses, two rocket motors, two feet of time fuse, , two cell phones, two cell-phone base stations, and 2,000 feet of wire were found while sweeping the Euphrates River near Hit.
Soldiers detained two men for having weapons in their homes during a search northeast of Baghdad.
Later, a man in southeast Muhammadi who claimed to have information regarding insurgent activity was detained.
Iraqi Police discovered a bomb in a road pothole east of Baqubah yesterday after receiving a tip. An explosive team was called to the site and found the bomb, made of one 155 mm round, one 130 mm round, and one foot of detonation cord. The explosive team realized the bomb had no initiation system and conducted a controlled blast to disarm it.

Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and the U.S. 1-71 Military Transition Team, 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, responded to a call from an Iraqi school guard reporting a possible improvised explosive device in the school south of Khadra yesterday. Soldiers found a 122 mm mortar round booby-trapped to a door in the school. An explosive ordnance team disabled the bomb.

In separate operations, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers seized a significant amount of weapons Jan. 22. Explosive ordnance disposal teams destroyed all caches on site.


A tip from a local national led soldiers from 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, to a large weapons cache north of Baghdad Jan. 22 morning. The cache included 14 57 mm rockets, three 84 mm mortar rounds, one 120 mm mortar round, 19 B-5 rocket fuses, 11 130 mm projectiles, 11 152 mm projectiles, 50 Iraqi grenades, 15 grenade fuses, 50 blasting caps, and a complete 120 mm mortar system. Soldiers also discovered many small-arms rounds.
While conducting a patrol in southern Baghdad, soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered a weapons cache at approximately 1 p.m. The cache included one anti-personnel tank round and 73 rounds of unexploded ordinance.
Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, patrolling in northeastern Baghdad discovered another cache, which included 12 mortar rounds, two 125 mm rounds and blasting caps, at approximately 4 p.m.
Officials reported no injuries in any of these incidents.

(From Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Transition Assistance Command Iraq news releases.)

Iraqi soldiers and Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) are conducting Operation Koa Canyon aimed at finding insurgents and their weapons in the western Euphrates River valley.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Matthew Upperman, Military Integrated Transitional Training (MITT) team, and an Iraqi soldier from 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army interrogate a suspected insurgent during a predawn raid in Samarra, Iraq, Jan. 18, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. William Jones

Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army prepare to go on a raid of a suspected improvised explosive device trafficker, Jan. 18, 2006. The Iraqis from this unit do not have Humvees. They travel in small pick-ups with homemade gun turrets welded to the bed of the truck. U.S. Army photo by Spc. William Jones

Iraqi, Coalition Forces Continue Operation Koa Canyon

Iraqi, Coalition Forces Continue Operation Koa Canyon
American Forces Press Service


FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq, Jan. 23, 2006 – Eight days of back-breaking searches through villages and fields along the western Euphrates River Valley have yielded thousands of pieces of ordnance as Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Marines continue Operation Koa Canyon in Iraq's Anbar province.
Aimed at isolating insurgents and their weapons, the combined Iraqi and U.S. force began the latest sweep Jan. 15 and have uncovered a staggering amount of weaponry. The soldiers and Marines are making their way inch by inch through caves, fields, wadis and islands in an attempt to disrupt the insurgents.

So far, the combined force has found and destroyed more than 4,300 artillery and mortar rounds, rockets and mines; 590 pounds of explosive powder; 10,000 rounds of various types of ammunition, ranging from small-arms to tank main gun rounds; 300 blasting caps; about 100 feet of detonation cord; and several working machine guns and mortar systems.

"Every piece of ordnance that is uncovered is one less potential IED that may be used against Iraqi civilians, and Iraqi security and Coalition forces," Marine Col. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., commander of 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), said.

McKenzie also said that the future of the Iraqi army is bright, based upon the individual courage of Iraqi soldiers. "The basic ingredient is courage, and these Iraqi soldiers are showing it," he said.

The Iraqi soldiers are with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, and the U.S. Marines are with the 22nd MEU.

MOSUL PATROL � U.S. Army Spc. Shawn Aiken, assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Styker Brigade Combat Team, provides security during a joint U.S. and Iraqi army patrol in Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 21, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Fosteri

.

Iraqi, U.S. Security Forces Repulse Insurgent Attacks

Iraqi, U.S. Security Forces Repulse Insurgent Attacks
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2006 – Iraqi and U.S. security forces repulsed attacks on military bases in Ramadi, Iraq, today about 100 kilometers west of Baghdad, officials reported.
The attacks by insurgents were a combination of small arms and mortar fire, and coincided with the Iraqi government's announcement of results from the first democratic election under the new constitution.

Iraqi soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 1st Public Order Brigade, along with U.S. soldiers and Marines, defeated the attacks within an hour using a combination of small-arms fire, medium and heavy weapons and preplanned aviation assets.

In other action, Task Force Band of Brothers soldiers detained a suspected terrorist after an improvised-explosive-device attack near the northern town of Hawijah yesterday, officials in Tikrit said today. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team were hit by small-arms fire as they were recovering a vehicle damaged by the IED.

The soldiers returned fire, forcing the gunman to flee, but they didn't get far, officials noted. A U.S. patrol en route to the site chased and stopped the suspect's vehicle, in which the soldiers found a sniper rifle and a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher with a warhead. Officials said two soldiers received minor injuries and were treated and returned to duty.

U.S. military officials in Tikrit also reported that Task Force Band of Brothers soldiers detained four terrorists after an IED the men were transporting detonated prematurely. Two Iraqi men, who were transporting a wounded man, flagged down soldiers from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and told the American soldiers about the incident.

The soldiers took the wounded man to a nearby military medical facility and a second patrol was sent to investigate the explosion.

When the patrol arrived at the site they found three other uninjured men, who admitted that they and the wounded man were transporting the IED, officials noted.

In an incident 155 miles north of Baghdad, Task Force Band of Brothers soldiers captured four suspects believed to be involved with an explosion that ripped through the Siniyah city government building the evening of Jan. 19, officials said. The building was reportedly leveled by the blast, but no injuries were reported to coalition forces.

A tip led soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team to two homes in the area, where the men were detained without incident.

In other news, terrorists killed 12 Iraqis in a drive-by shooting and took two others hostage Jan. 18. Elsewhere, U.S. and Iraqi forces captured suspected terrorists in several incidents.

Officials said the terrorists in the drive-by incident fled the scene in three vehicles: a red BMW, a green BMW and a red Mercedes. After Multinational Division Baghdad military police arrived at the scene, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at them from a nearby building. The grenade hit an Iraqi truck that was recovering a damaged vehicle.

Coalition forces returned fire to the building and conducted a cordon-and-search operation. The murder victims and hostages all worked for a national phone company.

Elsewhere, Iraqi army and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers nabbed seven suspected terrorists during a pre-dawn mission east of Haswah, 25 miles south of Baghdad, today, officials said. Soldiers from 4th Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division, cordoned off the area. Their counterparts from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, rappelled in and detained the suspects, who were trying to flee the area.

Officials in Tikrit also reported that a coalition aircraft killed three terrorists Jan. 17 after observing them emplacing an IED near Tal Afar. Soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, along with an explosive ordnance disposal team, safely destroyed the IED, which consisted of two artillery rounds.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Task Force Band of Brothers news releases.)

CORDON AND SEARCH � Iraqi forces and U.S. troops conduct a a cordon and search operation in Hadem Mutleg, Iraq, Jan. 18, 2006. The Iraqi soldiers are assigned to the 9th Mechanized Brigade, and the U.S. soldiers are assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill

Soldiers in first platoon "Choppin' Charlie" Company, captured a sniper near Samarra, Iraq, Monday. Some of the soldiers involved pictured left to right: Sgt Jimmy Sutton, Spc. Juan Villanueva, Cpl. Jason Kugler, Pvt. First Class Michael George, First Lt. Richard Hawkins, Pvt. First Class Jeffery Walker, Pvt. First Class Rick Monnig and Spc. Joseph Vanhook. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Cassandra Groce

U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to Bravo Battery, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, prepare their 105 mm Howitzers for a fire mission during Operation Counterstrike, Jan. 5, 2006, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo

Regiment, provide security as their fellow soldiers talk to Iraqi men during a patrol in Rawah, Iraq, on Jan. 3, 2006. DoD photo by Lance Cpl. Shane S. Keller, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)
060103-M-7772K-029

upper portion of an add-on armor kit as it is lowered onto the cab section of an M931 truck tractor at Balad Air Base, Iraq, on Jan. 13, 2006. The add-on armor kit provides the driver and gunner added protection against weapons fire and improvised explosive devices. Hild is deployed to the 732nd Expeditionary Logistics Squadron at Balad Air Base. DoD photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division, work with U.S. Navy sailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 6 to stack rockets, mortars, and bags of propellant that were found buried in the ground on the outskirts of Barwana, Iraq, on Jan. 15, 2006. The rockets, mortars, and propellant will be destroyed with C-4 plastic explosive to prevent their use in improvised explosive devices. DoD photo by Lance Cpl. Shane S. Keller, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)

KOA CANYON OPERATION BEGINS!

Iraqi, U.S. Troops Conduct Counterinsurgency Operation
American Forces Press Service


FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq, Jan. 18, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers and about 1,000 U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) are conducting counterinsurgency operations in Iraq's Anbar province.
Operation Koa Canyon began Jan. 15 to capture or kill insurgents and to locate and destroy their weapons caches in the western Euphrates River Valley, between the Jubbah/Baghdadi region and the city of Hit, officials said.

This combined operation involves 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Division, and the 22nd MEU's ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.

Most forces are conducting cordon-and-knock operations and searching for weapons and insurgent activity along the Euphrates River, about 80 miles northwest of Baghdad. U.S. Marines are also working with Iraqi police in the Baghdadi region in Anbar province.

(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)

.

Iraqi Soldiers, U.S. Marines Find 11 Arms Caches in Iraq

American Forces Press Service


RAMADI, Iraq, Jan. 16, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Marines with 2nd Platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, discovered 11 weapons caches Jan. 14 near Barwanah, Iraq, military officials at Camp Blue Diamond here reported today.
A translator on patrol with the troops spotted the initial cache, and 10 adjacent caches were discovered thereafter. The site was so large it took two days to completely uncover, officials said.

The caches contained artillery and mortar rounds of various sizes, rockets, armor-piercing incendiary rounds and 1,900 pounds of propellant. An explosive ordnance disposal team detonated 4,000 pounds of high explosives.

(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)

.

Abu Ghraib Detainees Released; Bombs and Weapons Found in Iraq

Abu Ghraib Detainees Released; Bombs and Weapons Found in Iraq
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2006 – Hundreds of security detainees were released from prison today, and multiple bombs and weapons caches were discovered in Iraq over the last few days, U.S. military officials reported.
About 500 security detainees were released from Abu Ghraib prison. Those released were not guilty of serious or violent crimes, such as bombing, torture, kidnapping, or murder, and all have admitted their crimes, renounced violence, and pledged to be good citizens of a democratic Iraq, officials said.

In other news from Iraq, a young girl phoned in a tip about a possible roadside bomb to coalition forces yesterday, after she saw a white bag in a hole on a road in southeast Baghdad.

When coalition forces investigated, they found a man hiding in the grass by the road, four masked men in a car, a man carrying an AK-47 assault rifle and two suspected triggermen in the prone position. Coalition forces prevented the terrorism suspects from carrying out an attack, and an explosive ordinance team disabled the bomb, officials said.

Troops from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, discovered a bomb under a pile of hay near Ramadi after receiving a tip yesterday.

A bomb squad responded to the site and found a 155 mm round, a 12-volt battery, a washing machine timer and a radio base station. A bomb team disarmed the device and recovered the contents for later analysis and disposal.

Iraqi police also found a bomb made from a bag of explosives wired to a cell phone yesterday in Tal Afar. A bomb squad was called to the site, and the bomb was moved to a safe location and destroyed.

No injuries or damage were reported in any of the incidents.

Coalition forces found two large weapons caches Jan. 13. The first consisted of various rockets and rounds, blasting caps, a roll of detonation cord, a G3 rifle, a grease gun, an RPK machine gun, and six 50-pound bags of suspected bomb-making material. The second cache included recoilless rifles, various munition casings and numerous mortar fins, rifle springs and empty magazines.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Security Transition Command and Task Force Ironhorse news releases.)

SWEEPING THE FIELDS � U.S. Army soldiers search fields for terrorists during Operation Falcon Sweep in Shakaria, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2006. The soldiers are assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr. Hi-Res Photo

Marine Killed, Police Thwart Ambush, Raids Nab Terrorists

American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2006 – A U.S. Marine was killed in Iraq yesterday, Iraqi police recently thwarted a roadside bomb ambush on coalition forces, and raids yesterday in northern Iraq led to the capture of five terrorist suspects, U.S. military officials in Baghdad reported today.
Officials said the Marine, assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, died of wounds received from small-arms fire in Ramadi. The Marine's name is being withheld until next of kin are notified.

Fast-thinking Iraqi police manning a checkpoint Jan. 9 stopped a convoy, headed by Staff Sgt. Mark Matthews, 801st Brigade Support Battalion, 506th Regimental Combat Team, and warned about a roadside bomb, officials said. An Iraqi police explosive ordnance disposal team soon arrived and destroyed the makeshift device.

"The Iraqi police provided additional security to help secure our convoy while we waited, then (they) exploded the device," Matthews said. "The IPs tested the route, then we made it through with no problems."

Three raids yesterday in northern Iraq led to the capture of five suspected terrorists.

Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team received a tip that led them to a terrorist cell member. Once the troops closed in and caught the terrorist, he turned informant and gave up information on another member of his cell. The soldiers were able to capture the other suspect from the information given.

Members of the cell are wanted for attacks against civilians and security forces, car theft, kidnapping and improvised explosive device emplacement.

Three more terrorist suspects were detained near Mosul in relation to car bomb attacks. All three men were rounded up by the 172nd SBCT along with a sniper rifle and various identification cards.

The Task Force Band of Brothers rewards program continues to garner support from the local population, officials said, as many citizens provide information leading to the discovery of individuals involved in crimes against the people of Iraq as well as attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)

SORRY TO HAVE BEEN GONE SO LONG!

MY FATHER PASSED AWAY ON JANUARY 3, A WWII vet, enlisted at 16 immeadiatly after Pearl Harbor, Survived his ship getting sunk by a German U boat, Used the G.I. bill to get a Masters Degree in Education, raised 6 children and went to church every Sunday. What more can you say, a real American. I miss him............

Soldiers Detain Suspected Terrorists, Secure Enemy Weapons Caches
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2006 � Coalition forces in Iraq yesterday found and destroyed weapons caches, detained terrorist suspects, and recovered the remains of a terrorist bomber who inadvertently killed himself, U.S. military officials there reported.
The terrorist bomber was killed near Tal Afar when a roadside bomb he was emplacing detonated prematurely. Soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment discovered the bomber's body and part of a shovel near a blast crater.
This is the second such incident over the past three days, officials said. Two terrorists were killed Jan. 9 while emplacing a roadside bomb near Samarra. An improvised explosive device attack against coalition forces near Balad yesterday resulted in the capture of four terrorism suspects. The IED was detonated as it was being investigated by a patrol from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
A coalition aircraft spotted the four men running from the area into nearby homes and guided in more ground forces, who quickly captured the suspected terrorists. No soldiers were injured during the incident, but one coalition vehicle was slightly damaged.
Coalition soldiers found several large weapons caches southwest of Baghdad. The caches included ammunition rounds, mortars, bipods, radios, rockets and rocket warheads.
In Babil province, coalition soldiers found and destroyed a large roadside bomb-making cache. The cache had six propane tanks with emplacement wire. An explosive ordnance disposal team detonated the cache.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, discovered a cache when they observed loose dirt alongside railroad tracks. The cache had artillery rounds, spent illumination mortar rounds, artillery projectile fuses and pressure plates. A bomb disposal team destroyed the cache.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq and Task Force Ironhorse news releases.)

Iraqi, U.S. Soldiers Detain Terror Suspects, Secure Weapons Caches
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2006 � Iraqi and U.S. soldiers detained terror suspects and seized weapons caches in operations throughout Iraq yesterday and today, military officials reported today.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 6th Iraqi Army Division, detained a suspected terrorist and discovered a weapons cache during an early morning raid north of Baghdad today. U.S. troops from Task Force Ironhorse, a military training team with the 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, supported the Iraqi soldiers. The soldiers took fire from the insurgents, but quickly suppressed the firefight and captured a suspected terrorist.
The Iraqi soldiers also discovered a wide variety of weapons, including improvised explosive devices, mortar tubes, mortar rounds, rocket propelled grenade launchers and rounds, AK-47 assault rifles, rockets and rocket launchers, grenades a machine gun, C-4 explosives, TNT, a 152mm round, a tazer, and Iraqi Army uniforms and ID cards.
Iraqi troops in Ramadi and Ubaydi secured hidden enemy weapons caches yesterday, officials said.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, found two caches during west of Ramadi and Mulaab. Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, found two caches west of Ubaydi.
The caches included a radio base station, a 9-volt battery, a washing machine timer, blasting caps, small-arms munitions, mortar and rocket rounds, hand grenades, artillery rounds, an AK-47 assault riffle, a bolt-action rifle and seven empty AK-47 magazines, officials said.
The caches were turned over to the authorities for disposal. No injuries or damage were reported.
Meanwhile, in northern Iraq, U.S. soldiers detained 21 suspected terrorists while finding three weapons caches yesterday in Tal Afar and Mosul through tips by local Iraqis and by U.S. troop actions, officials said.
The raid in Tal Afar against a suspected terrorist cell took place just after midnight and involved soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The soldiers found mortar rounds, small-arms ammunition and a home-made mine. Seven men were detained at the site, officials said. Two raids in Mosul involved soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, who captured eight suspected terrorists. One of the suspects is believed to have conducted mortar attacks on nearby civilian targets, officials said.
A tip yesterday from two Mosul residents who believed they had found an improvised explosive device led to the discovery anti-tank mines and an artillery round. The residents tipped of the Iraqi police, who then searched the area. An Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal team responded and found the hidden contraband, officials said.
Also yesterday, soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, captured three suspected terrorists near a weapons cache in the Tikrit area. The cache had mortar rounds and rockets and was discovered near an area where numerous rocket and mortar attacks had originated, officials said.
Finally, an ineffective rocket attack against a base near Balad led to the capture of three terrorist suspects yesterday. Soldiers from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, stopped the suspects' vehicle after coalition aircraft observed them the suspects trying to flee the area, officials said.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq and Task Force Ironhorse news releases.)

U.S. Navy Seaman John Christofferson, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Moble Unit 11, Detatchment 11, Whidbey Island, Wash., shoots a .50 caliber sniper rifle at a range in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, Jan. 5, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Timothy J. Villareal

U.S. Army Capt. Tom Fournier (left) briefs Maj. Christopher Engen on the progress of the Iraqi army's 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, while they raid suspected insurgent homes in western Bayji, Iraq, Jan. 8, 2006. The soldiers are assigned to the 2-9th Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jose Ferrufino

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Viktor Hancock checks the area behind an armor-modified vehicle before a debriefing with other airmen at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Jan. 7, 2006. The airmen celebrated their return from a convoy security mission that made the four-million mile mark. Hancock, a gunner with the 732nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, is deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung

U.S. Navy Lt. Robert Marsh, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Moble Unit 11, Detatchment 11, Whidbey Island, Wash., attaches explosives to a detonation cord in a daisy-chain line before doing a test detonation at a range in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, Jan. 5, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Timothy J. Villareal

U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Fiorella provides security during an Iraqi police academy graduation in Muthana Zayuna District, Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 9, 2006. Fiorella is assigned to Bravo Company, 4th Regiment, 320th Field Artillery Battalion, 101st Division. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Teddy Wade

U.S. Army Capt. Mark Derocchi searches for possible improvised explosive devices hidden on the side of a main road in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 10, 2006. Derocchi is assigned to Alpha Company, Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Teddy Wade

U.S. Army soldiers from Alpha Company, Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, search for possible improvised explosive devices hidden on the side of a main road in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 10, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Teddy Wade

ROADSIDE CLEARING, BAGHDAD � An RG-31 mine protected vehicle belonging to U.S. Army engineers of Alpha Company, Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, provides security for a convoy after one of the trucks had a flat tire on a main road in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 10, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Teddy Wade