Ghost town receives new life

Photo By Master Sgt. Opal Vaughn | 3rd and 4th Battalion, 18th Brigade, Iraqi army soldiers look on from a distance as U.S. forces prepare to destroy a school in Amugaten, Iraq, with a Joint Direct Attack Munitions, Feb. 7. The school is a known house-born improvised explosive devices carrier and is being destroyed as part of a joint mission called Operation Automatic Pursuit II, lead by U.S. forces and 3rd and 4th Battalion, 18th Brigade, Iraqi army.  

IRAQ

02.10.2009

Story by Spc. Opal Vaughn  

14th Public Affairs Detachment

By Spc. Opal Vaughn
14th Public Affairs Detachment

There are no children playing outside, no animals, no clothing lines hung or even a whisper of voices to acknowledge any sign of life in Amugaten. Only the sound of the whistling wind blowing clouds of dust and dead wood brush down the empty streets. Amugaten would almost seem like a ghost town except that people do live there.

But there is a reason for this; the village is plagued with improvised explosive devices. Sprayed on the side of a wall in white paint lettering, both in Arabic and in English, "bombs inside," sends a clear message to anyone passing through the village of Amugaten.

No longer wanting to remain in the shadows of impending IED threats, the people are starting to take a stand and want to bring life back into their community.

But thanks to the joint efforts of 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in conjunction with 3rd and 4th Battalion, 18th Brigade, Iraqi army, Amugaten is slowly becoming a safer place to live.

By request of the locals of the village, U.S. Forces and IA conducted a joint mission called Operation Automatic Pursuit II, to eradicate the town of several known house-born improvised explosive devices which threaten the locals in the area.

"We're trying to clear out the last remnants of AQI [al-Qaida in Iraq]cells," said Command Sgt. Maj. La Clair, command sergeant major, 2-8FA. "We hit another location during Operation Automatic Pursuit I and we believe the insurgents who are left have moved into this town. Insurgents are very good at having an early warning system. So whenever we rolled in; whether they use kids, IEDs or markers, they'll try to sneak out the back using canals to egress out," La Clair stated. "So we have to be very careful about coming in with the element of surprise."

In order to remove the HBIED threats in the village, IA cleared the entire village, going from house to house to ensure the villagers were moved to a safe location.

"We've had a lot of trouble getting clearance to both of these locations," La Clair stated. "It has literally taken several months, so we're going to go ahead and blow these two sites so they are no longer a threat to the local people. At one point, one of the sites blew partially on Coalition Forces a while back and nobody would touch it because it was a school. But really, it's just a building with bombs in it. The only way to clear it now without killing somebody is to blow it."

After cordoning the village, IA re-checked each household to ensure no one was in the village before moving back to a safe distance themselves. Without a sound, U.S. Air Force Close Air Support jets whisked in and out, dropping three 500 pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions on the first site. Following a cloud of dust and smoke in the distance, a thunderous boom came afterward from JDAMs hitting their mark.

"The insurgents in this southern AO are very good at booby traps, IEDs, pressure plates and crush wires; so the biggest threat is just IEDs and bombs throughout this AO," La Clair stated. "This is like the HBIED capital...in the Diyala province."

Three JDAM and two command detonations later, a school and a house which are both known HBIED carriers from intelligence gathered, have now been reduced to rubble.

"We have several joint forces working together on this mission," La Clair said. "It is a pretty complicated mission because we have guys on the ground and guys in the air for support. When U.S. Forces came here in 2007, literally some of these towns were completely rigged HBIEDs. Sometimes there would be ten or 20 structures and each one of them would be rigged with IEDs."

Afterward, U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Mobile Unit 1, went back to each location and cleared the sites to ensure no more munitions remain in the area.

"Until now, this village has been a very dangerous village," said Staff Col. Alaa', commander, 3rd Bn., 18th Bde., IA. "As we went through here the people asked us to stay and to provide security for their village."

In order to facilitate the safe keeping of the Amugaten, IA will remain a strong presence in the village by constructing new headquarters there and setting up various check points leading up to the village.

"There has been no IA presence in this area," Alaa' said. "We held a meeting with the local people and have decided to keep IA troops here and they have agreed to help us by giving us information. With IA remaining in the area, there will be no more terrorism around."

After receiving an all clear sign from Navy EOD some of the locals began to return to their homes. With IA remaining in the area, hopefully, the people will begin to feel safe again.

• Date Taken: 02.10.2009
• Date Posted: 02.10.2009 12:28
• Story ID: 29856
• Location: IQ