Photo By Staff Sgt. Zachary Mott | Spc. Suk Lee, a Queens, N.Y., native, speaks to an Iraqi man about a claim he would...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Zach Mott
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
BAGHDAD – Clashes between Iraqi security and coalition forces with special groups criminals who are threatening the security of this region have increased in recent weeks across northeast Baghdad.
At times, local Iraqi civilians, and the property they own, have been caught in the middle of this struggle.
The newly opened Iraqi assistance center on Joint Security Station Sadr City, which is run by Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, aims to help those who have suffered losses as a result of the fighting.
The purpose of the center is to provide the local residents an opportunity to file claims due to the losses they suffer when militant use law-abiding citizens as a cover for their activities.
The claims are submitted due to injuries suffered, loss of life, and damage to their personal property as a result of the battles involving the ISF and CF forces as they battle to rid the area of the special groups criminals, said Sgt. Brendan Piper, a civil affairs specialist from Milwaukee, who is spearheading the claims process here.
Piper, along with other members of the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion and Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, established the IAC at JSS Sadr City, along with a nearby Civil Military Operations Center, to better assist the residents of this impoverished district in northeast Baghdad.
One man who entered the IAC was looking to receive funds to repair his car after it was damaged in a firefight between special groups criminals and MND-B Soldiers. Hickmat Fadel said he was forced from his home when fighting broke out and recently returned to find the damage to his vehicle.
"I feel that (security has) become much better," he said. "I couldn't come home for a few weeks; now we can return home."
Fadel works as a dentist in northeast Baghdad and brought his 3-year-old daughter, Nuna, with him to file his claim.
Once the claim is submitted – which must include proper documentation of the incident and identification of the claimant – Piper said he sends that packet forward, and it is then to be reviewed by officials to ensure there was an incident involving Coalition Forces. Once the claim is deemed accurate, it is then forwarded to the legal officer, who reviews the file and makes a determination on whether a claim should be paid.
In the two days the IAC has been open here, more than 50 people have come in to either file a claim or find out more about the process. Additionally, four claims have already been paid to assist those residents.
The secondary function of the IAC is to help citizens find family members who are currently detained. Piper has access to a database that lists each person who is detained and where they are currently being held. The list is updated daily.
"They've got to prove that it is a family member, then we can show them where their loved one it as – where they're being detained," Piper said.
As more ground is made safe in the southern portion of the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Piper said the IAC will move and continue to be close to the people.
| Date Taken: | 04.30.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 04.30.2008 15:07 |
| Story ID: | 18956 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 451 |
| Downloads: | 419 |
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