US Captures Two Senior AQI Leaders In Baqubah
Despite reports that the leadership of al-Qaeda in Iraq bugged out of Baqubah just ahead of the five-day-old American offensive in Diyala, American forces captured two senior AQI commanders today. Other American operations in Iraq netted suspects in Tikrit and Mosul. A Sadr City operation captured militants with Iranian ties as well:
U.S. and Iraqi troops captured two senior al-Qaida militants and seven other operatives Saturday in Diyala province, an Iraqi commander said, as an offensive to clear the volatile area of insurgents entered its fifth day.The U.S. military also cracked down elsewhere in Iraq, saying in a statement that seven other al-Qaida fighters were killed and 10 suspects detained in raids in Tikrit, east of Fallujah, south of Baghdad and in Mosul.
Three other militants suspected of having ties to Iran were detained in a predawn operation by U.S. forces working with Iraqi informants in Baghdad's main Shiite district of Sadr City, the military said separately.
The Americans have accused Tehran of providing mainly Shiite militias with training and powerful roadside bombs known as explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, that have killed hundreds of U.S. troops in recent months.
That's not a bad day's work. The capture of senior members of AQI gives the American and Iraqi forces an opportunity to get good intel. It also provides the means to work on undermining the morale of the remaining AQI forces in Diyala. Their capture means that any plans or safe houses in their knowledge have to be treated as compromised, forcing AQI to regroup and move to stay ahead of the Americans. That creates opportunities for mistakes, and even greater gains by the Coalition.
So far, the operation has resulted in 55 dead terrorists and 23 captured, while the citizens of Baqubah have increased their assistance to the Coalition. They want AQI out of Diyala, thanks to the brutality of the foreign fighters. The Iraqis have no more use for al-Qaeda than anyone else but terrorists and their sympathizers do.
Interestingly, the Coalition discovered a field hospital for AQI with some sophisticated medical equipment, including defibrillators. Since AQI doesn't go out on the market to have these items shipped to them, the obvious conclusion is that they are stripping medical facilities in areas they control -- leaving regular Iraqis without the medical care they need. It's another reason that Diyala residents have come to the same conclusion as those in Anbar, and have worked to aid the Coalition in ejecting them from their province.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on June 23, 2007 8:33 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)
Comments (12)
Posted by Fight4TheRight | June 23, 2007 9:50 AM
This is FANTASTIC news! Thanks for the breaking post on this information , Cap'n. This offensive, in my mind, will mean the difference between winning and losing. This offensive is the military's opportunity to put the War in its true light - to finally expose to the American people how Al Qaeda has been the enemy all along and Reid and Pelosi and Murtha can take the "civil war " surrender slogan and shove it.
Posted by NahnCee![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| June 23, 2007 11:20 AM
We're told that there were 1000 terrorists, and they've only managed to kill 55? And capture a couple of hundred others? Why is it so hard to mass massacre these guys, any way? Four here, 12 there -- when we took out Z-man it was only one other guy with him, a couple of women and some kids. When we killed Uday and Qusay, there was only one cousin/kid with them. What's WRONG with these terrorists that they don't play together nicely and make it easier to annihilate them??? I guess when that happens, the Iraqi's then call it a "wedding party" and start boo-hooing over the loss of innocent lives.
Posted by Lightwave | June 23, 2007 11:47 AM
"nterestingly, the Coalition discovered a field hospital for AQI with some sophisticated medical equipment, including defibrillators. Since AQI doesn't go out on the market to have these items shipped to them, the obvious conclusion is that they are stripping medical facilities in areas they control -- leaving regular Iraqis without the medical care they need."
I'd argue that while you're probably right on this Ed, I'd say it's very much worth investigating where these supplies are coming from as well as the training to use them. If they are from Coalition rebuilding supplies, then that's a problem.
If they are from elsewhere in the Middle East, then that's an even bigger one. Providing weapons to disrupt US-Iraqi efforts to clean out Diyala is one thing, and there's deniability. But providing medical supplies and other less mobile devices are signs that this is a long term operation with serious government backing.
Posted by kindaskeptical | June 23, 2007 12:04 PM
American Gen. Odierno said Qaida fled Buquba. Iraqi Gen. said they captured two senior Qaida, but gave no information about who they are. Do we ever get straight information from Iraqi officials?
Odierno said Qaida leaders fled Baquba during widespread public discussion of the U.S. plan to take them out of Baquba.
The story isn't that our troops were betrayed by Iraqis telegraphing their plans to al Qaida in Baquba, it's that the whole operation was public before it began. What is going on over there?
Posted by Angry Dumbo | June 23, 2007 1:32 PM
Awesome news. Of course, good news doesn't sell and only serves as troll bait (and you trolls know who you are).
Anyway, even though I feel like I am speaking into the abyss, I'd like to congratulate our troops and their Iraqi counterparts for their success in Arrowhead Ripper. Your courage and unwaivering dedication to the betterment of the Iraqi people and the greater middle east speak to the greatness of all Americans and the nobility of your mission.
Posted by PersonFromPorlock | June 23, 2007 3:00 PM
It'd be good, though, if we more often captured somebody whose name the public'd heard before. This cynic kind of wonders if these guys didn't get a battlefield promotion... from us.
Posted by NahnCee![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| June 23, 2007 4:56 PM
kindaskeptical - I think you're probably quoting the story from today's NY Times about all the bigshot bad guys bugging out ahead of time.
If you re-read that story, you'll see that the writer's evidence for that is "of coure everyone has been saying that the Triangle of Death is a problem, so that al-Queda knew sooner or later they would be attacked". It's very emphemeral evidence, easily twisted, and they do NOT directly quote any American generals who might have blown it ahead of time.
I'm equally dubious about citing Iraqi's claiming to have captured interesting people, but geez -- if the difference is between believing an Iraqi quote and a NY Times article, can we please just hold our breath until Option Number Three shows up?
Posted by Del Dolemonte | June 23, 2007 6:39 PM
NahnCee sez:
"We're told that there were 1000 terrorists, and they've only managed to kill 55? And capture a couple of hundred others? Why is it so hard to mass massacre these guys, any way? "
We could easily kill more, by using the same tactics we used to win World War 2 (carpet bombing with high civilian casualties), but we would never be allowed to do so in this day and age, when leftist ACLU types ignore Saddam putting people into shredding machines, but are aghast at pictures of panties on the heads of Abu Ghraib prisoners...
Posted by Ion | June 23, 2007 10:03 PM
Note that the leaders they captured weren't wearing suicide vests.
Posted by kenneyb210 | June 24, 2007 12:14 AM
Iraq is turning the corner every time the coalition flushes the toilet and AQ scrambles.
When they return and when the civilians know the coalition will shoot them dead or throw them in prison they get turned in. Each capture creates more and more info and proves Iraq can change.
Posted by gregdn | June 24, 2007 9:33 AM
Bill Roggio stated that we killed 159 bad guys in the first 7 days of this offensive. We lost 25 in the same period.
At that rate, they can keep this up a lot longer than we can.
Posted by citizen | June 25, 2007 7:57 AM
How is it that America cannot counter the roadside bombs? I hate it that someone can go out at night and dig a hole in the road and bury explosives, AND NO ONE HAS A CLUE IT'S THERE?
Where is our technology? There should never be another casualty from that source.
citizen