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WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2004 – Iraqi National Guard soldiers and soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division's Stryker Brigade Combat Team began offensive operations against known concentrations of insurgents in southeastern and southwestern Mosul, Iraq, today at the Ninevah province governor's request.
Gov. Duraid Kashmoula's request resulted from a series of attacks on Iraqi security forces through the night of Nov 10 and into today. Insurgent forces attacked several police stations and other targets within the city. In several cases, anti-Iraqi forces exceeded the capabilities of the police on site, requiring reinforcements. The governor, officials said, is working with other regional governments to identify measures to restore and maintain a police presence in local police stations. In the Iraqi capital of Baghdad today, a car bomb detonated wounded at least 30 civilians and destroyed 11 vehicles. A nearby building also collapsed, trapping an unknown number of civilians inside. "The viciousness of this terrorist has no bounds," said Lt. Col. James Hutton, spokesman for the 1st Cavalry Division. "The insurgent continues to kill and maim Iraqi civilians and destroy property for the sole purpose of accumulating power for himself. He offers only terror and pain. His tactics, however, will not stop the march of progress by the Iraqi people." Elsewhere, 1st Infantry Division soldiers detained 17 people during a search in Yethrib overnight. The search was conducted to kill or capture members of an insurgent cell believed to be responsible for planting homemade bombs. Those detained were questioned on site, officials said. In a raid in Siniyah, a weapons-trafficking suspect was detained Nov. 10, and 1st Infantry Division soldiers detained a wanted individual in a raid in Sudayera early this morning and took him to a Multinational Force Iraq detention facility. A homemade bomb was found concealed in a vehicle in Tikrit Nov. 10. Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division noticed the vehicle parked on the side of the road and requested Iraqi police assistance with securing the area. Explosives ordnance personnel destroyed the explosives and cleared the area. There were no injuries or damage to equipment. In other news from Iraq, military officials in Baghdad announced that three courts-martial involving allegations of detainee abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison will take place at Fort Hood, Texas, rather than in Baghdad. Defense attorneys had asked for a change in venue because of the difficulty involved in witnesses traveling to Iraq. The first of these trials, for Army Spc. Charles Graner, is scheduled to begin Jan. 7. (Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)
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