Diyala's Breadbasket two months later: A success story

Photo By Staff Sgt. Russell Bassett | Sons of Iraq man a checkpoint in Himbus, Iraq, March 8.  

IRAQ

03.15.2008

Story by Staff Sgt. Russell Bassett 

4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

Staff Sgt. Russell Bassett
4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team,
2nd Infantry Division

HIMBUS, Iraq – A lot can happen in a few months. Citizens of the northern Diyala River Valley area commonly referred to as the Breadbasket have seen a world of difference in just two months.

For several years, the Breadbasket – an area of roughly 100-square kilometers – had been an al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold and safe haven. There was very little Iraqi army presence and virtually no Iraqi police. AQI had enforced strict Sharia Law and were kidnapping and beheading those who did not comply with their explicit demands.

That all changed beginning Jan. 7 with the start of Operation Raider Harvest – the Diyala province portion of the theater-wide offensive Phantom Phoenix. Soldiers of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division cleared house-by-house, village-by-village throughout the Breadbasket.

Unlike past operations in which Soldiers left after the clearing phase, this time the troops were there to stay. The 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment has the tough job of not only clearing the Breadbasket of AQI but also of making sure the enemy does not return. But they don't have to do it alone.

A battalion's worth of Iraqi army soldiers now operates in and around the Breadbasket, along with a company-size element of Iraqi police. In addition, Sons of Iraq (formerly Concerned Local Citizens) programs are now operating in 10 different villages throughout the Breadbasket and surrounding area.

The difference is palpable. Shops are open for business, kids play in the street and families walk freely together down the main roads – a far cry from how it was when 3-2 first rolled in.

"The people seem to have a happier appearance," said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Brown, platoon sergeant in Co. I, 3-2 SCR, who daily patrols the Breadbasket. "They don't seem as apprehensive of the unknown, of what's around the next corner. They are actually talking to us now, as opposed to when we first got here, they were very tight lipped. They weren't sure if we were going to stay. They were afraid to talk to us because they were afraid of repercussions when we left. Now we get lots of information. Pretty much everyday someone will tell us about AQI, either in the past or current numbers in the (Area of Operations)."

Since the start of Raider Harvest, 3-2 SCR has detained more than 120 suspected AQI and found 27 weapon caches in and around the Breadbasket.

"We are getting a lot of small caches turned in, and getting up to 10 detainees a week throughout the entire AO," said Lt. Col. Rod Coffey, squadron commander. "And most of that is from the locals, particularly the Sons of Iraq who now feel empowered to report what they know."

The local residents have clearly responded favorably to the increased security. One man told the story of the pleasure he experienced talking with his friends around a fire until 2 a.m., something he couldn't do when AQI was in charge and enforced a strict 5 p.m. curfew.

Sameer Sakar Mahmood, a leader and SoI in the town of Abu Musa, said his town is much safer now.
"The terrorists used to drive around in their vehicles and walk around here," he said through a translator. "Now I can walk through the orchard by myself, and I am not scared."

There are currently around 250 SoIs operating in and around the Breadbasket, and Coffey said that number will increase to 800 once all the programs are up and running.

In Himbus, one of the larger villages in the area and a former command post of AQI, the difference is very evident. Within 100 meters of the town center there is now an IA compound, an IP checkpoint and two CLC checkpoints.

The muktar, or mayor, of Himbus, Hamid Ameen Saleim, was optimistic when talking about the future of his town.

"The children are now happy," Ameen said through a translator. "All the families here can relax and get back to work. The economy is picking up because people are getting back to work."

Before Raider Harvest, the Breadbasket had been completely cut of from the government. The local residents had not received any of their regular food and kerosene rations, and the roads were too heavily planted with IEDs to travel out of the area to get needed supplies and medical attention.

During the first month of Raider Harvest, 3-2 SCR and the Iraqi security forces conducted dozens of humanitarian aid drops and medical engagements, but now the push is to get the Iraqi government to provide these services.

Ameen said they are now receiving food rations once a month.

"For years the government didn't help us," the Himbus muktar said. "They gave us no services, but CF destroying the terrorists made a big difference."

Other signs of progress in the area include displaced families moving back into their homes. The people of the villages of Ghadat and Bazul had abandoned their houses due to the threat of violence by AQI but are now returning.

In addition, several villages that were formerly racked by sectarian violence are now reconciling, including Big and Little Barwana. The leadership of 3-2 SCR has helped mediate many of these "awakening" movements.

As far as the Breadbasket has come in the last two months, it still has a ways to go. Kerosene rations have yet to be delivered, and irrigation for the crops remains an issue, as do many basic services.

"The hospitals were destroyed. We are without medicine," explained Ameen. "We need the canals cleaned to get our agriculture up. The government has not helped us."

Ameen went on to say that the residents of Himbus have had to pay twice the value for fuel on the black market because the government has yet to provide it, but he is optimistic that things will continue to improve.

"We hope to talk to the highest power from the province to get what we need," he said.

3-2 SCR has several ongoing projects in the area to improve the situation including canal cleanups and working with the government in Muqdadiyah, the nearest urban center, to improve basic services and health care.

"We have seen a lot more stores and businesses opened," Coffey said. "People have started to work in the rock quarries again, and the general atmosphere is very positive. We are starting to see that link between the towns and qadas and Muqdadiyah be a lot more active. The water treatment plant in Little Barwana has been worked on, and it's been worked on by the Iraqis, so its not just American money doing that. There is kerosene distribution in Muqdadiyah. The muktars have to go to Muqdadiyah and demand that kerosene get delivered. They do not need American help anymore to make that stuff happen."

And while violence has dropped considerably in the last two months throughout the Breadbasket, a recent attack was a grim reminder that this is still a war zone. On March 7, three 3-2 Soldiers were wounded when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. An IP checkpoint was also destroyed in the attack.

AQI have yet to be completely irradiated from the Breadbasket, but their days appear numbered, and they have certainly lost the support of the local populace.

"I will use all my power as a CLC to fight all the terrorists from this town," concluded Mahmood, the SoI leader in Abu Musa.

Operation Raider Harvest officially concludes April 1, but there is currently no plan to remove to 3-2 SCR from the Breadbasket.

• Date Taken: 03.15.2008
• Date Posted: 03.15.2008 01:45
• Story ID: 17387
• Location: IQ