Multi-National Division - Center Public Affairs Office
BAGHDAD — Coalition forces unleashed a new round of bombing on al-Qaida safe havens outside of Arab Jabour Jan. 20. The series of nighttime strikes commenced at 10:16 PM and continued for over two hours, dropping a total of 35 bombs, with a total weight of 19,000 pounds.
Army Col. Terry Ferrell, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, whose troops are in control of the mission, conducted an interview with the Task Force Marne Public Affairs Office on the purpose of the strikes, how targets are selected, and what the next steps are for Arab Jabour.
Key Quotes with Timestamps:
(00:01) "The strikes that we conducted tonight were focused on IEDs (improvised explosive device) and caches that we have targeted that will allow us to get our ground forces further into the zone. These targets, the IEDs specifically, are designed as part of the defensive belt to prevent our forces from entering into areas that we have not been before."
(00:51) "The process that we go through to orchestrate an event of this magnitude, or any targeting cycle, that we work together with the Air Force, is a very detailed, deliberate process."
(02:07) "As we go now to areas that we have not gone before, we need to do these strikes to reduce the risks to our soldiers."
(04:03) "We are in a relentless pursuit of the enemy. In this case, in our area of operations, it is al-Qaida. Wherever al-Qaida wants to operate we're going to find him. We're going to tame him, we're going to capture him, we're going to kill him. Because we're not going to allow him to believe that he has any ground that he can hold to call his own or where he can find sanctuary within our operational environment so that he can continue to bring harm or rule with an iron fist that he has in the past."
| Date Taken: | 01.21.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.21.2008 13:57 |
| Story ID: | 15621 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 28 |
| Downloads: | 18 |
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