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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Soldiers in Baqouba keep pressure on al-Qaida in Iraq

Soldiers in Baqubah use smoke as concealment to move through the neighborhood of Buhriz, Iraq, April 10. Soldiers with Company A, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash., took part in a three-day battalion-sized effort to clear the Buhriz neighborhood of terrorists. After the operation, Soldiers along with Iraqi police and Iraqi army continued to maintain a presence in the neighborhood to maintain security for the local people.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SR# 0416-05
April 20, 2007

By Staff Sgt. Antonieta Rico
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAQOUBA, Iraq — Soldiers with 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment continued their systematic attack on terrorist forces in Baqouba with another clearing operation in the city April 10.

In this latest effort, Soldiers of 5-20 Inf. Regt., 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash., spent three days clearing the neighborhood of Buhriz, described by Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Bruce Antonia as “al-Qaida’s battleground.”

When the Stryker battalion first arrived in Baqouba in March, it encountered resistance from the neighborhood’s insurgents in the form of roadside bombs, rocket propelled grenade fire and small arms fire.

During the mission, Soldiers operating alongside Iraqi Security Forces conducted house-to-house searches for terrorists and weapon caches. They learned from residents that many terrorists had fled Buhriz in the face of the advancing battalion.

“We’ve pushed al-Qaida out of here,” said Sgt. Matthew Benzshawel, with 2nd Platoon, Company A, “We are a pretty lethal force. When (insurgents) see a battalion’s worth of Strykers coming, (they) usually move out.”

Nonetheless, the battalion reported that coalition forces detained about a dozen suspected insurgents, including one man described by the unit as a “high-level” terrorist.

The battalion also reported that it found and destroyed more than 20 small weapon caches, which included a Dishka machine gun, grenades, mortar rounds, rocket propelled grenade rounds, sniper rifles, AK-47’s and ammunition.

Soldiers from the battalion say they have managed to make the area safer for the local people with their continuous efforts against al-Qaida in Iraq.

“We’ve denied them the terrain,” said 1st Lt. James Dobis, 2nd Platoon leader, Company A. “They have not been fighting with anybody, they have not attacked us … they have not attacked any civilians.”

The assault into Buhriz served as a catalyst to secure a foothold in the area. Iraqi Security Forces, along with Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, which is attached to 5-20 Inf. Regt., plan to maintain a permanent presence within the neighborhood by collocating troops at an Iraqi police station in Buhriz and continuing to patrol the area.

Battalion leaders plan to continue their assault on al-Qaida in Iraq forces in and around Baqouba.

“We have taken their battleground,” said Antonia, after the operation. “We are going to keep the pressure on the enemy. That is the only way to push them out.”


More photos here

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Camp Fallujah
Brig. Gen. Charles M. Gurganus, commanding general of the Ground Forces Element of Multi-National Force - West, speaks to members of the press prior to a press conference by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in Camp Fallujah, Iraq, April 19, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. David J. Murphy

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In Today's News - Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Quote of the Day
"You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth - and the amusing thing about it is that they are."
-- Father Kevin Keaney, 1st Marine Division Chaplain, Korean War


News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Blast Kills 9 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq
Bombs Rock Iran's Embassy
'Listen to the Generals'
GOP lawmakers battle Reid, Dems on Iraq
Dems Keep Timeline in Iraq War Funding Bill

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghans say Taliban commander may be surrounded

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Hamas Fires Rockets at Israel After Declaring 5-Month Truce Over
U.N.'s Ban seeks Syrian support for Hariri court
Somali govt, insurgents battle for seventh day
Six held under UK anti-terrorism law

Fallen Heroes
GI Questions Flag Lowering After VT Slayings
Tillman Friendly-Fire Death Hearings to Start

Other Military News
Wiccan Pentacle Added to Vet Emblems
Britain to resume boarding in Gulf
Coast Guard Shows Off Cocaine

Worldwide Wackos
Ahmadinejad Wants Direct Talks With Bush - Iranian Govt. to Women: Cover Up

Homegrown Moonbats
Report: Sheryl Crow's Solutions to Global Warming
Actress Basinger hires security for daughter

Politics / Government
Kucinich Prepares Impeachment Articles Against Dick Cheney
Kucinich to Announce Cheney Impeachment
Obama pulls even with Clinton in White House race
Tension lurks but tight ties in focus for Abe, Bush
Russians to pay respects to Yeltsin - Video
Obama: Bush falls short as world leader
Transformed Russia bids Yeltsin goodbye

Illegal Immigration / Border Control
Border Patrol Union: No Confidence in Chief
Border cop charged with murdering migrant
Immigration issues nag at GOP candidates

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis Receives 35-Day Jail Sentence for Contempt Plea
Three Female NYPD Offiicers Accuse Sergeant of Using Racist, Sexist Remarks During Roll Call
Convicted Sex Offender Not Guilty of Raping Two Teens in Underground Bunker
Cops Seize Cho's Cell Phone, E-Mail Records
PHOTOS: Va. Tech Back to Class - STORY
ID theft task force urges tougher penalties
Study: Lethal injection method flawed
Philly struggles with rising murder rate
Man kills Houston complex manager, self

Adventures in Political Correctness
Simmons says 3 epithets should be banned

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Law and Order
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist David Halberstam Dies in Car Crash

Science / Medicine / Technology
Study: No Breast-Feeding, Obesity Link
Study sees major depression connection to diabetes
Melanoma in kids differs from the adult cancer
Sun 3-D pictures help warn of solar flares - Video
Mystery fossil turns out to be giant fungus
Researchers probe fossilized rain forest

Oddities
From Professional Sleeper to Ice-Cream Tester: Find Your Calling With a Crazy Career
Pop that! Korean "breakdance boys" take on the world
Oddly Enough
Teachers "purify" students with cow urine

Other News of Note
Taiwan Military: We Can Beat China
Senators raise new concerns in pet food scare
Ill. town evacuated after ammonia leak

Fox News
Toyota Leaves GM in the Dust
Report: More Tests Show Landis Was Doping
NEWS IN PICTURES: Colts Meet Bush
Pop Tarts: Lindsay Lohan-Keira Knightley Threesome Squashed?
Former 'Apprentice' Contestant Bares it All in June Playboy

Reuters: Top News
French rightists attack Royal over centrist appeal - Video
Nigerian oil delta gets VP but will it get peace?
U.S. sees Poland moving forward with shield plan
"God of War II" tops March U.S. video game chart
China's newly rich developing taste for fine wine
Chevy Chase says in book he was beaten by mother
Aussie drags down high-yielders, dollar awaits data
Housing jitters hit global stocks, carry trade in focus
Oil climbs further above $68 on Nigeria
Futures flat; housing data, earnings loom
Wall Street set to open flat; data, earnings eyed
BarCap to maintain growth pace
Consumer confidence seen lower
KKR ups Alliance Boots bid, secures 25 pct support
Apple ex-CFO settles with SEC: report
Lockheed profit up on tech systems, one-time gains
Pepsi Bottling 1st-qtr profit falls
China says U.S. piracy case will harm trade ties
BP first-quarter profits fall on lower oil price

AP World News
Riggs named most 'Beautiful Bulldog'
Canucks advance with win over Stars
McGrady, Rockets overcome Boozer's 41
Study: Fat workers cost employers more
T-Mac, Rockets beat Boozer, Jazz 98-90
A-Rod ties mark, but Yanks lose to Rays
Playoffs is Sheed's time as Pistons win
Scrushy settles SEC lawsuit for $81M
Obituaries in the news

Military.com
Poll: Is President Bush in Denial?
Blog: Target Practice in Afghanistan
Def Tech: A Step Forward for the JSF
Sarah Smiley Interviews 'The Bachelor'
Web's Best Military Equipment Guide
Opinion: Terror's Lobbyist
The New Warfighter's Forum

CENTCOM: News Releases
SUICIDE VEHICLES TARGET IRAQI POLICE
VBIED DETONATES NEAR DIYALA'S PROVINCIAL COUNCIL HEADQUARTERS
LIVE INTERVIEW WITH MAJOR GENERAL DIAMOND AND BRIGADIER GENERAL MEHMOOD
COALITION FORCES SEE PROGRESS IN DIYALA RIVER VALLEY
TROOPS ASSIST NEIGHBORHOOD WITH FIRE DAMAGE

USJFCOM
Noble Resolve 07 kicks off - podcast
Learn more about Noble Resolve
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense meets with USJFCOM - podcast

DefenseLink
Bush: Troops Will Give Iraqis 'Breathing Space' - Story
Gates Asks Russia to Partner on Missile Defense - Story
U.S., Russia to Form Group on Missile Defense - Story
Gates in Russia to Discuss Missile Defense - Story
Chairman Pleased with Afghan Training Center - Story
Top Official: Success Ultimately Up to Iraqis - Story

More Headline News
Much Not Known About Weapons Found in Afghanistan
Dempsey: Iraqi Security Force Deserves Support
VoTech Grads to Pour Into Iraqi Labor Pool
Gates Expresses Condolences on Death of Yeltsin

Military News
Military Spouses Discuss Medical Transcriptionist Careers
Blue Angel Jet Crashes at Beaufort Air Show
‘The War Tapes’ Offers Look at Operation Iraqi Freedom

War on Terror
Explosion Kills 9 Soldiers - Story
Coalition Kills, Detains Terrorists
Taliban Leader Killed in Air Strike
Iraqi Police Stop Suicide Bomber

America Supports You
Wounded Warriors Play Golf
Group Sends Packages to Troops
Gridiron Greats Visit Iraq
Communities Prepare for Walks

Transformation
Service Integration Vital to Change
Joint Force Ops Industry Symposium

Face of Defense
Coincidence Connects Friends - Story
Soldier Embraces Iraq Duty
Airman Awarded Bronze Star
Iraqis Appreciate U.S. Military

DefendAmerica
NEWS UPDATES
Defense Secretary in Russia To Discuss Missile Defense - Story

ON THE GROUND
Shadow Heroes Behind Curtain Making it Work - Story
Military Transition Teams Help Train Iraqi Forces - Story
Conn. Guard Soldiers Reflect on Deployment - Story
Soldiers Make an Impact on Iraqi Communities - Story

IN IRAQ
Iraqi Soldiers Get Ready to Lead Combat Patrols
Baghdad Primary School to Hold 900 Students
Sailors Return from Middle East Deployment
Anaconda's First-ever Chef Competition Sizzles
New Iraqi Military Intelligence Academy Opens
Community Improves, Al Kumait School Reopens
Cargo Teams Move to Improve Customer Service
'Bandido Charlie' Secures Western Iraq
Soldiers Support Iraqis with Help From Home
Seabees Build Modular Protected Billeting

IN AFGHANISTAN
Coalition Forces Train Afghan National Police
Turkey Partners with U.S. in War on Terrorism
Security Team Trains Humanitarian De-miners
First Permanent Customs Building Opens

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Today in History
0858 - Nicolas I succeeds Benedict III as Catholic Pope
1061 - Halley's Comet sparks English monk to predict country'll be destroyed
1185 - Battle at Danoura - Yoshitsune Minamoto's fleet beats imperial fleet
1288 - Jews of Yroyes France are accused of ritual murder
1311 - General Malik Kafur returns to Delhi after campaign in South India
1364 - Pope Urbabus V names John V van Virneburg as bishop of Utrecht
1524 - Duke of Bourbon drives Admiral Bonnivet out of Milan
1547 - Battle of Mühlberg Emperor Karel V vs ruler Johan F. the Brave
1570 - Battles between Spanish troops & followers of sultan Suleiman
1596 - Pacificatie of Ireland drawn
1704 - "Boston News-Letter", 1st successful newspaper in US, is established
1762 - Russia & Prussia sign peace treaty
1792 - "La Marseillaise" (French national anthem) composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle
1800 - Library of Congress is established with $5,000 allocation
1863 - Skirmish at Okolona/Birmingham, MS (Grierson's Raid)
1865 - Fire alarm & police telegraph system put into operation (San Francisco)
1867 - Black demonstrators stage ride-ins on Richmond, VA streetcars
1872 - Volcano Vesuvius erupts
1877 - Last federal occupying troops withdraw from south (New Orleans); Russia declares war on Turkey through Romania
1884 - National Medical Association of Black physicians organizes (Atlanta GA)
1888 - Eastman Kodak forms
1897 - 1st reporter, William Price (Washington Star), is assigned to White House
1898 - Spain declares war on US, rejecting ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba
1898 - US fleet under commodore Dewey sails from Hong Kong to Philippines
1899 - Transvaal British Uitlanders ask Queen Victoria for aid
1901 - 1st American League game, Chicago White Sox beat Cleveland Indians 8-2, 3 other games rained out
1908 - Mr & Mrs Jacob Murdock become the 1st to travel across the US by car, they leave Los Angeles in a Packard & arrive in NYC in 32 days-5 hours-25 minutes
1915 - Massacre of Armenians by Turks (Armenian Martyrs Day); German army fires chloroform gas in Ieper
1916 - Easter rebellion of Irish against British occupation begins
1920 - British Mandate over Palestine goes into effect (lasts 28 years); Polish troops attack Ukraine
1921 - 1st municipal elections for men & women in Belgium
1923 - Colonel Jacob Schick patents Schick shavers
1928 - Fathometer, which measures underwater depth, patented
1929 - 1st non-stop England to India flight takes-off; Thorvald Stauning becomes premier of Denmark
1941 - British army begins evacuation of Greece; Dutch Prince Bernhard becomes an RAF pilot
1942 - Luftwaffe bombs Exeter
1944 - 1st Boeing B-29 arrives in China "over the Hump"
1944 - RAF bombs Munich
1950 - Independent republic of South Molukkas declared; President Harry Truman denies there are communists in US government
1953 - Winston Churchill knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
1954 - 1st American, civilian pilot, P.R. Holden, wounded in Indochina; Australia & USSR break diplomatic relations
1955 - Conference of Bandung against colonialism/for self determination ends; Gaullists lose elections in France
1960 - Heavy earthquake strikes South Persia, 500 killed
1961 - JFK accepts "sole responsibility" following Bay of Pigs; The Vasa, which sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628, is raised
1962 - 1st Lockheed A-12 is taxi tested; MIT sends TV signal by satellite for 1st time California to Massachusetts
1965 - Military coup under Donald Reid Cabral in Dominican Republic
1968 - Leftist students take over Columbia University in NYC
1969 - General Lin Piao succeeds Mao, is seriously wounded; Lebanese army in battle with Palestinians; US B-52's drop 3,000 ton bombs at Cambodian boundary
1970 - Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth; People's Rebublic of China launches its 1st satellite transmitting song "East is Red"; Senegal adopts constitution
1971 - Soyuz 10 returns to Earth
1980 - US military operation to save 52 hostages in Iran, fails, 8 die
1981 - IBM-PC computer introduced; US ends grain embargo against USSR
1982 - 150 Khomeini followers assault student dormitory in West Germany
1983 - Austrian socialist party loses parliamentary election
1987 - Howard Stern holds a free speech rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, NYC
1989 - Tens of thousands of students strike in Beijing China
1990 - US 66th manned space mission STS 31 (Discovery 10) launches into orbit; West & East Germany agree to merge currency & economies on July 1st
1993 - 1000 kg heavy IRA car bomb explodes in London, killing 1
1994 - Armando Calderón Sol wins El Salvador presidential election; Bomb attack in center of Johannesburg kills 9
1995 - Court orders Darryl Strawberry to pay back $350,000 in taxes

Birthdays
1576 - San Vicente de Paúl
1620 - John Graunt, statistician, founder of science of demography
1743 - Edmund Cartwright, cleric, inventor (power loom)
1766 - Robert Bailey Thomas, founded Farmer's Almanac
1769 - Arthur Wellesley, General/Duke of Wellington
1773 - Harman W. Muntinghe, lawyer/Dutch colonial director
1804 - Thomas Oliver Selfridge, Union Naval Commander
1807 - Charles Ferguson Smith, Union Major General
1815 - James Edward Harrison, Confederate Brigadier General
1822 - Erastus Barnard Tyler, Union Brevet Major General
1828 - Robert Brank Vance, Confederate Brigadier General
1829 - George Peabody Estey, Union Brigadier General
1837 - Friedrich von Holstein, German diplomat (die graue Eminenz)
1849 - Joseph S. Galliéni, General (Battle of Marne)/military governor (Paris)
1856 - Henri POBJ Pétain, French marshal (Verdun/Vichy regime)
1864 - George Alting van Geusau, Director-General (PTT)/Dutch Minister of War (1918-20)
1873 - Theodor Körner von Siegringen, Austrian General/President
1874 - John Russell Pope, architect (Jefferson Memorial)
1889 - [Richard] Stafford Cripps, English Minister of Plane-manufacturing (1942-45)
1895 - S. Constantine Timoshenko, Russian marshal/people's commissioner
1905 - Robert Penn Warren, 1st US poet laureate (All the King's Men)
1911 - Karl O. Schiller, German economist (Minister of Economics); Robert Joseph Kane, President of US Olympic Committee (1976)
1942 - Richard M. Daley (mayor-Democrat-Chicago); Valeri Abramovich Voloshin, Russian cosmonaut
1953 - John P. Hiler (Representative-Republican-IN, 1981- )
1955 - Jack Kingston (Representative-Republican-GA)
1959 - Yvonne D. Cagle, MD/astronaut

Passings
0709 - Wilfried, bishop of York, at about 76
0729 - Egbert[us] English bishop/saint, in Iona at 89
1077 - Geza I, King of Hungary (1074-7)
1185 - Antoku Taira, Emperor of Japan (1180-85), drowned
1617 - Carlo Concino, French marquis of Ancre/state advisor, murdered
1891 - Count Helmuth K.B. von Moltke, Prussian General/fieldmarshal
1900 - George J.D. Campbell, British minister of Indies (1868-74, 80-85), at 76; Andrew Halliday, cable car pioneer
1945 - Anton de Kom, Suriname resistance fighter, at 47
1952 - Jules Poncelet, Belgian minister of State, at 82
1957 - Andries CD de Graeff, Governor-General of Netherlands Indies (1926-31), at 84
1967 - Vladimir M. Komarov cosmonaut (Voshkod I), is 1st to die in space (aboard Soyuz 1), at 40
1986 - Wallis Warfield Simpson (Duchess of Windsor)
1993 - Oliver R. Tambo, chairman (African National Congress), at 75

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Cooper, William E., USAF (GA); F105D shot down (same flight as Driscoll)

Driscoll, Jerry D., USAF (IL); F105D shot down (same flight as Cooper), released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

1967
Christian, Michael D., USN (AL); A6A shot down (w/Williams), released by DRV March, 1973 - died in a fire, September, 1983

Knapp, Herman L., USAF (NJ); F4C shot down, likely KIA

Tucker, Edwin B., USN (MA); F8C shot down, DIC - remains returned November, 1987 / ID'd February, 1988

Williams, Lewis I., USN (FL); A6A shot down (w/Christian) - released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

1968
Helle, Robert R., USMC (OH); released by PRG March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Johnson, Buford Gerald, US Army (FL); UH1H crashed - remains recovered September, 1968

Kavanaugh, Abel L., USMC (CO); released by PRG March, 1973 - deceased, suicide

Parker, Woodrow W., USAF (FL); F4D crashed (w/Vinson) - remains returned / ID'd October, 1998

Sparks, John G., US Army (TN); OV1A shot down - released by PRG March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Vinson, Bobby G., USAF (TX); F4D crashed (w/Parker) - remains ID'd October 1998

1969
Shriver, Jerry M., US Army SF (CA)

1970
Cross, James E., USAF (OH); U-17B shot down (w/Reese)

Reese, Gomer D. III, USAF (NY); U-17B shot down (w/Cross)

1971
The following US Army personnel reported Missing after their unit came under heavy fire:
Champion, James A. (TX); believed KIA

Malo, Issako F. (CA); released by PRG March, 1973 - alive as of 1999

1972
The following US Army personnel reported Missing when the Viet Cong attacked the Tanh Canh base camp:
Carter, George W. US Army (FL); KIA/BNR

Ellen, Wade L. (VA); KIA/BNR

Hunsicker, James E. (PA); KIA/BNR

Jones, Johnny M., (AL); KIA/BNR

Yonan, Kenneth (IL); remains returned April, 1988

Zollicoffer, Franklin (MS); KIA/BNR

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