Afghanistan, Iran + Drone from Iran Shot Down
Hunting in Harm’s Way: 731st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company
Staff Sgt. Clayton Hendricks, a combat engineer from Placerville, Calif., assigned to the 731st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, takes time away from searching for bombs with the EOD technicians to say, “Hi†to a friend March 3, in Baghdad.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Mark Burrell
National Police, Paratroopers Team Up for Operation Dub Chabeer 2
Sgt. 1st Class Eric Stein, a platoon sergeant assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, gives a high five to Iraqi schoolboys lined up to receive book bags from national police officers assigned to the 2nd Bn., 8th NP Bde., 2nd NP Div., and Paratroopers of Co. B., during “Operation Dub Chabeer 2†March 8 in the 9 Nissan District of eastern Baghdad. The combined operation distributed hundreds of school supplies to seven area schools in the poverty stricken district to enhance the children’s education.
Photo by Staff Sgt. James Selesnick
Afghanistan, Iran + Drone from Iran Shot Down
Sgt. Stryker here. Well, it was finally brought out into the open and confirmed – that an Iranian drone was shot down in Iraqi airspace last month. Gates recently said Iran posed a real problem. We shall see what happens. We’ll also take a look at continued operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan – yeah, those countries to the West and East of Iran.
On March 16, 2009 Multinational Force Iraq officials confirmed that coalition jet fighters had shot down an Iranian drone that was hovering over Iraq on February 25, 2009. The incident occurred about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, officials said in a statement.
Two coalition aircraft were directed to visually identify the unmanned aerial vehicle after it was detected hovering inside the Iraqi border. The pilots confirmed that it wasn’t a coalition aircraft and that no collateral damage would result from a shoot-down.
Coalition air forces tracked the UAV for nearly one hour and 10 minutes before the pilots engaged and shot it down “well inside Iraqi airspace,” officials said. Officials said they believe the drone to be an Iranian-made Ababil 3 model UAV.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and military leaders have long accused Iran of interference in Iraq. Iran poses “a real problem,†Gates said earlier this month.
“I think it’s one of the significant challenges that we’re going to face over the next several years,†he said on PBS’ Tavis Smiley Show on March 11, 2009.
Meanwhile, in Iraq on March 16, 2009, military officials reported coalition and Iraqi forces arrested two suspected terrorists, seized weapons and destroyed thousands of pounds of explosives in operations in Iraq in the past five days.
A Mosul special weapons and tactics team, aided by coalition forces, yesterday arrested two suspected terrorists listed on a Central Criminal Court of Iraq warrant in Ninevah province. When the team moved to arrest a third suspect, the suspect resisted with small-arms fire from inside a house. A SWAT member was shot in the leg, and an Iraqi woman was wounded. She was treated on site but died en route to a hospital.
Also in Iraq – March 12 – 14:
The Iraqi army requested the help of a coalition forces EOD team March 12 to destroy a large quantity of homemade explosives, various types of munitions, an improvised explosive device and IED-making materials in Baghdad. Iraqi forces found the materials over the past month. In two days, members of Team 4, Joint Task Force Troy, destroyed about 6,000 pounds of homemade explosives, 1,000 primers, 600 blasting caps, 26 grenades, 25 rounds of ordnance and the IED.
In the Karmah region, Iraqi security forces and police, aided by U.S. Marines, seized two weapons caches and a homemade bomb March 13. The caches contained 16 rocket-propelled grenade warheads, two rocket launchers with accessories, four 120 mm mortars and a grenade. Led by civilians’ tips, the forces also found a homemade bomb. An EOD team destroyed the munitions.
Iraqi police found a weapons cache March 14 in Subayhat that contained 35 artillery projectiles, 148 mortars, a tank round, a rocket-propelled grenade, six rockets, and various small-arms ammunition and weapons accessories. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the munitions.
A little to the east, in Afghanistan, Afghan and coalition forces killed 11 militants, detained suspected militants, and netted drugs and weapons in operations over the past week, according to U.S. military officials.
In Lowgar province’s Baraki district on March 16, 2009, Afghan and coalition forces conducted a raid to find and detain a suspected Taliban weapons smuggler. The suspect is believed to be involved with a Taliban commander responsible for attacks on Afghan civilians.
During a compound search, the forces asked the occupants of the buildings to leave. The occupants in one failed to comply. The forces entered the compound and saw several men hiding behind women. The forces moved the women to a safe area and detained six suspected militants. They also found an explosive device, which they safely removed. The forces protected 25 women and 12 children during the operation.
Also on Monday, March 16, Afghan and coalition forces conducted an assault on two compounds to disrupt the Haqqani terrorist network in Paktia province’s Zadran district, which is south of Kabul. The combined force searched the compounds and detained two suspected militants. No shots were fired. The combined forces protected four women and eight children during the operation.
March 15, 2009 Afghanistan Operations:
In Kandahar province’s Maywan district, west of Kandahar, Afghan special operations and coalition forces conducted an operation to disrupt a foreign fighter and weapons smuggling network in western Kandahar. Upon arrival, the forces asked noncombatants to leave the buildings. The forces killed five militants who maneuvered on them during the operation. The forces also detained three suspected militants and protected 19 women and 38 children during the operation.
Afghan and coalition forces conducted a raid to disrupt the Haqqani terrorist network in Khowst province. The forces detained four suspects and seized an AK-47 assault rifle, a pistol and 15,000 Pakistan ruppe, which is about $200. Five women and 10 children were protected during the operation.
March 14, 2009 Afghanistan Operations:
Afghan and coalition forces conducted operations against militants suspected of making bombs in Lowgar province, southwest of Kabul. The forces received information that the militants were staying on a compound in Charkh district. Upon arrival, the forces asked noncombatants to leave the area. Armed militants engaged the forces. Five enemy combatants were killed in the firefight. The forces also seized and destroyed multiple weapons and grenades. Eight women and nine children were protected during the operation.
In Kandahar province, west of Kandahar, Afghan special operations forces and coalition forces conducted a raid on a compound used as a storage area and staging site for Taliban operations against coalition forces in Zhari and Panjwayi districts. Led by a civilian’s tip, the combined force arrived at the targeted compound and encountered and killed an armed enemy combatant. The forces also detained 10 suspected militants and destroyed 176 pounds of a potentially explosive material used in the production of homemade bombs. The forces protected 19 women and 29 children during the operation.
Afghan army commandos, aided by coalition forces, netted drugs and weapons during a search of an enemy compound in Helmand province’s Nawa district. The commandos seized 20 pounds of black tar heroin in a drug lab, as well as an AK-47 with magazines. Following the search, the villagers told the commandos that the Taliban had been demanding money, food and water from them.
In Oruzgan province’s Tarin Kowt district, Afghan National Police, aided by coalition forces, found and destroyed an improvised explosive device cache that contained five large containers of homemade explosives and more than 10 107 mm rockets. Later that day, one of the ANP vehicles struck an IED. The police officers inside the vehicle sustained minor injuries and were able to continue their mission. No other injuries were reported.
This is Sgt. Stryker signing out.