4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

Courtesy Story

By the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

FORWARD OPERAING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Iraqi security forces conducted an early morning operation in the Babahani area, Aug. 14-15, 2008, in an effort to detain insurgents prior to the onset of Shabaniyah.

During the operation, soldiers from 4th Battalion, 31st Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division detained 14 individuals and confiscated a cache of 28 empty rocket bodies as coalition forces provided the outer cordon.

"Col. Sa'eed and the 4/31st Battalion conducted successful operations in Babahani and the Bouharat," said Lt. Col. Timothy Newsome, a native of Homerville, Ga. "Great work by Col. Sa'eed and his staff that is certainly indicative of the potential of this battalion in conducting ever-larger, independent operations."

Shabaniyah celebrates the birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th Shiite imam, who disappeared in the ninth century. ISF planned Operation Lion's Roundup to ensure the area would be safe for the religious pilgrimage.

"The fact that they conducted these operations independently and were witnessed doing so by Iraqi citizens, Iraqi police and [Sons of Iraq]...will contribute significantly to their credibility in the eyes of the Iraqi people," said Maj. Scott Taylor, a native of Jamestown, N.Y., and operations officer for 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. "Overall, great progress is being made."

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