30 Al Qaeda Die of Global Warming and Task Force 88, But Mostly Task Force 88

Damn, we just made even more terrorists!

Iraqi and Coalition forces continue to press the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq in the northeastern province of Diyala, where the terror group maintains small pockets. In the latest series of raids as part of Operation Raider Harvest, Iraqi and US forces killed 30 al Qaeda operatives and captured 21, including a senior al Qaeda leader, during raids and operations.

On Jan. 22 and Jan. 23, special operations teams of Task Force 88 carried out two raids north of Baqubah. The first raid targeted "an improvised explosive device specialist involved in coordinating IED and suicide-vest attacks in the region ... with ties to several al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders." The Special Forces team killed the high-value target and one other operative during the raid, and found improvised explosive devices and grenades at the scene.

Task Force 88 returned to the region the next day seeking a second al Qaeda leader. Ten al Qaeda fighters were killed in airstrikes after manning fighting position, and another three were killed by ground fire as they moved to attack the Special Forces teams. As they secured the building used by the terrorists, Coalition forces found “machine guns, military style assault vests, rocket propelled grenade propellant and various ammunition," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. "Nearby, the ground force discovered additional weapons caches to include rocket propelled grenades, artillery and mortar rounds, improvised IEDs, and suicide-vest materials."

Further north in the Miqdadiyah district, 15 al Qaeda fighters were killed and 20 more were captured during an operation in Sharaban....

Iraqi police also arrested Fawzi Abdel al Aziz, also known as Abu Yaser, during a raid in the village of Abu al Tamir in the district of Khalis. Yaser is "a senior al-Qaeda commander wanted for involvement in a number of killings and forcible relocation [ethnic cleansing] operations," Diyala's chief of police told Voices of Iraq.

I'm just curious what the "anti-war" left imagines these solid citizens might be up to if they didn't have our soldiers all up in their grill on a daily basis. Just farming, maybe? Working the night shift in Pappy's shoe-cobbling business? Getting their certification in heating and air conditioning from the DeVries Institute?

posted by Ace at 07:16 PM

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