IA, CF go 'Fox Hunting' in Diyala: Joint operation opens key roads and clears one of last remaining terrorist strongholds in Diyala

Photo By Staff Sgt. Russell Bassett | Capt. Johnny Fry, 1st Platoon leader, inspects a building with his rifle scope as Sgt....... read more read more

Photo By Staff Sgt. Russell Bassett | Capt. Johnny Fry, 1st Platoon leader, inspects a building with his rifle scope as Sgt. Ramon Ramos, squad leader in Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery, pulls security during Operation Fox Hunting in Abu Khamis, Iraq, Feb. 29.  see less | View Image Page

ABU KHAMIS, IRAQ

03.03.2008

Story by Staff Sgt. Russell Bassett 

4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

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ABU KHAMIS, Iraq – The Iraqi army, with minimal help from coalition forces, is currently clearing al-Qaida in Iraq from one of their last remaining strongholds in "restive" Diyala province -- the area between Baghdad and Baqubah east of the Diyala River.

Operation Fox Hunting began Feb. 27 with elements of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division providing support as the Iraqi army cleared Al-Sayahi (the Tourist Road) and another north-south road father east that had both been closed for more than a year due to heavy seeding of improvised explosives by AQI.

During the first four days of the operation, IA explosive ordnance disposal, along with route clearance teams from the 38th Engineer Company, found and cleared more than 45 IEDs from the two routes. Three IA vehicles and two CF vehicles were hit by IEDs during the route clearance missions. Three IA were killed and two wounded due to these attacks.

In addition to the route clearance missions, IA and CF Soldiers are also clearing numerous towns surrounding the two routes. So far, 15 towns have been cleared. Three AQI operatives were killed during these clearing operations.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 28, Battery A, 2nd Battalion 12th Field Artillery air-assaulted into the town of Abu Khamis to clear the village with the Iraqi army. The intelligence estimate of the town said an IED cell of 15-20 AQI fighters used the town as a base, and the Soldiers expected to have to fight their way through, but the town turned out to be a little different than expected.

"My first impression is that it was almost like a ghost town," explained Capt. James Sink, Battery A commander. "I had two platoons conducting (entry control point) operations for 18 hours around the town and they didn't see a single person or single vehicle the whole time."

Once the troops reached the town, they discovered that most of the men had already fled the village, leaving behind women, kids, a few older men, goats ... and booby-trapped houses.

The troops faced a very close call in one house that had been rigged to explode upon the opening of a room door. Pfc. Richard Vasquez was part of four man team clearing the home whose quick thinking likely saved their lives.

"I was about to breach the door. I was tired, and I was just going to kick the door in. I don't know what told me, but I looked down . . . and I noticed (the trigger)," Vazquez said. "My team leader came up and said, 'Let's clear it,' but I said, 'No, I got a bad feeling.'"

After the trigger was disabled, the Soldiers found a 30-gallon drum full of homemade explosive located just inside the door.

"Afterwards I was thinking, man, I could be dead," Vasquez said. "My kids would be without a dad right now if I hadn't been professional and kicked that door like I wanted to. It would have taken us all out."

One Iraqi army soldier was not as lucky and was killed when the house he was clearing exploded. In the town of Abu Khamis, the joint forces found and destroyed four HBIEDS.

In the nearby town of Mullah Id, Soldiers of Battery B, 2-12 FA, discovered an IED factory that included 17 mortars, 13 rockets, 200 pounds of explosives and a sniper rifle.

"There was IED making material all over the place," said Capt. Kevin James, Battery B commander. "We found stuff in several rooms and under palm fronds outside."

At the same time 2-12 FA was helping the IA clear The Tourist Road and surrounding villages, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment was helping the IA clear a parallel road father east.

"The area is an AQI support zone that facilitates the refit, resourcing and rearming on insurgents into Baghdad and Baqouba," said Lt. Col. Paul Calvert, 2-3 ACR commander. "Given the number of IEDs we have found, we've been taking our time, making sure each and every village is cleared."

Calvert said in a few of the villages they experienced what 2-12 FA experienced in Abu Khamis with most of the men having previously vacated.

"We have found some villages that we thought were AQI safe havens that were unoccupied and looked deserted," he said. "This is an obvious indicator that villagers have been giving safe haven to the insurgents. For the most part though, we are finding families in villages. Most appear to be regular farms people."

As the clearing phases of Fox Hunting come to a close, the holding and building phases begin, including setting up Sons of Iraq programs and IA and Iraqi police checkpoints.

In Abu Khamis, the "ghost town," this phase has some unique challenges.

"We are trying to work through the challenge of how we are going to create SoI volunteers and ultimately new IPs with a complete lack of qualified men," Sink said. "One of things we are doing when we are engaging the local leaders is telling them to get the word out to please come back; if you have a clean record and are not a known terrorist to come back to protect your village and possibly even become an IP."

Along with setting up a permanent security apparatus to keep AQI from coming back to the area, the joint forces, including the Iraqi police are conducting humanitarian aid drops in the area.

Many of the villages had not received food and kerosene rations for more than a year, and due to the roads in and out of the towns being blanketed with IEDs, were unable to travel to get needed supplies.

The local residents lined up in the towns to receive the much needed flour, rice, oil, blankets and heaters.

The CF commanders in the field praised their IA counterparts, who planned and took the lead in Operation Fox Hunting.

"The IA is doing an extremely good job," Calvert said. "The IA soldiers can integrate quickly with the people and can gain information from the people that we maybe couldn't get. They do more than just come through and clear villages, they build relationships with the people."

By the end of Fox Hunting, more than 70 km of roads will be cleared of IEDs. Follow on operations are scheduled to repair the craters in the roads.