FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Iraqi army and coalition forces conducted a joint operation resulting in the capture of 67 detainees, hundreds of rifles and a cache of explosives in Haswah, July 23, 2008.
Soldiers of the 31st Brigade, 8th IA Division led Operation Lion's Roar II, and Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Div. provided aerial and other support, including an explosive ordnance disposal team.
"The overall purpose of the operation was to clear Haswah of insurgent and terrorist elements in order to provide protection to the people of Haswah and the Iskandariyah area," said Lt. Col. Michael Getchell, 2-502nd Inf. Rgt. commander.
Getchell said increased terrorist activity in the past several weeks, including attacks on leaders of the Sons of Iraq, led the IA to target several suspects.
"They planned it all. This is completely an IA, 31st Bde.-planned operation. All they asked for from the coalition was some support," Getchell said.
Another factor, he said, was the upcoming Shabaniyah celebrations in Karbala and Najaf.
The operation began before sunrise as IA and Iraqi police moved through every part of the city searching houses. Loudspeakers instructed local citizens to remain indoors. By afternoon 67 people were detained and remained in IA custody, along with 240 firearms, including 161 AK-47 assault rifles. Also discovered was a weapons cache, which included 20 land mines, six cans of homemade explosive and other bomb-making materials.
"Basically, we're looking for all the (illegal) weapons inside these houses ... bombs, (improvised explosive devices), anything illegal," said Col. Saaed, commander of 4/31/8th IA Div. "We need to search all these houses carefully."
The message was clear to all those in the area: Iraqi laws apply to everyone, and the IA is able to enforce them.
"We would like to show them a lesson: No more violence or (other illegal) activities," Saaed said.
Most of the detainees had warrants for their arrest from provincial and local courts, said Brig. Gen. Abdul-Amir, commander of 31/8th IA Div. Many are suspected of involvement in recent violence between criminal groups and al-Qaeda in Iraq, including al-Qaeda-sponsored attacks on SoI leaders in the area, he said. Among those detained were 30 of the court's most wanted suspects.
"Those insurgents use their weapons to kill innocent people," he said. "We need to build trust between the ISF and (local) citizens."
The 2-502nd Inf. Rgt. Soldiers supported the operation through the use of a biometrics database to determine the identities of detainees. As the detainees were processed, Soldiers collected data, which was entered into a database used in tracking suspected terrorists.
"Our tactical (human intelligence) teams and our screening will help the IA determine that these are the guys we're looking for," said Getchell.
Getchell said the operation showed the growing capability of ISF to work effectively in the area.
"I've seen the capability improve over time so (the ISF) need less and less support from the coalition. When we got here in late October, operations were predominantly coalition-driven, coalition-planned, and then we brought the IA in. We've seen that change over the last few months where the operations now, on the larger scale, are IA-planned, and then (the ISF) will bring the coalition in. It's encouraging," said Getchell.