30,000 Iraqi Troops Mass To Invade Diyala & Finish Off Al Qaeda
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I have no comment here, I am simply smiling.
Iraq was today massing 30,000 troops in advance of an assault on one of al-Qaeda’s surviving strongholds that will be a litmus test of the country’s growing security forces.
Officials said a major clearing operation of the troubled central province of Diyala would be launched on Aug 1, spearheaded by Iraqi army and police personnel and backed by 10,000 American troops. If successful the operation will add to an impressive run of victories for the security strategy of the prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
On his initiative, the country’s army has made major inroads in militia-controlled Basra and eastern Baghdad this year. The al-Qaeda presence in Mosul has been significantly eroded by operations overseen by a well-regarded local commander, General Riyadh Tawfeeq.
A succession of disruption campaigns have already been waged in Diyala. American forces encountered major resistance (and kicked ass) last year in Operation Arrowhead Ripper, which was supposed to clear the city of Baquba, once declared the capital of al-Qaeda’s putative Islamic State of Iraq.
“Diyala remains the most dangerous province in Iraq,” said Colonel Ali al-Karkhi, an Iraqi officer in the province.
“But understand that it is a mini-Iraq. There are Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Christians. The other provinces are far less mixed which is why it is so difficult to restore peace here. It is also the reason why people are so extremist.”
Pro-government irregular forces have been established throughout the province but often these village guardians have borne the brunt of attacks by terrorist groups. A tractor laden with explosives killed seven members of a local patrol in the village of Wais on Monday.
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