CLEARING OPERATION - Iraqi soldiers with the 8th Iraqi Army Division, 32nd Infantry Brigade, 2nd Battalion, walk down a road leading into Ali Shaheen, Iraq, March 7, 2008, to begin a clearing operation. DoD photo by Sgt. Timothy Kingston, U.S. Army.

Labels: 8th Iraqi Army Division, Ali Shaheen, Iraq, Iraqi Army, photos, US Army

From Multi-National Force - Iraq:


A B-1B Lancer drops six 500-pound GBU-38 bombs onto an al-Qaeda in Iraq torture house and prison in northern Zambraniyah, March 10. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway.


Tuesday, 11 March 2008

FOB KALSU — A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer dropped six 500-pound GBU-38 bombs onto a recently discovered al-Qaeda in Iraq torture house and prison in northern Zambraniyah, March 10.

Members of a ‘Sons of Iraq’ (SoI) group led Coalition forces to the al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) torture house and prison in northern Zambraniyah last week.

The patrol was conducted based on intelligence provided by an SoI leader in the area, said Capt. Chris O’Brian, troop commander of Troop C, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, currently attached to 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div.

“The guy wants to clean up the area,” said O’Brian, a native of Herndon, Va. “AQI killed half his family.” The SoI leader, who heads a group of 300 SoI, worked with his men in support of Troop C Soldiers on the patrol.

SoI are pointing out the bad guys in the neighborhood, O’Brian said, adding that they have also provided actionable intelligence.

Much of that intelligence indicated that there may be an AQI prison or torture house in the town, O’Brian said, noting that he was receiving reports on the possibility for the past week.

That intelligence led Soldiers to a house full of materials used by insurgents for torture.

O’Brian said they discovered hand cuffs, an electrocution system consisting of bare wires linked to an on/off switch running to handcuffs on a window bar, and hanging hooks used for humans.

Twelve interrogation books written in Arabic were found along with several sets of female clothing. A bloody handprint was also present.

Labels: Al Qaeda, Good News, Iraq, terrorists

CLEARING THE TARGET - U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Daniel String puts his radio and gear on after a B-1B Lancer successfully dropped six GBU-38 munitions onto an al Qaeda in Iraq prison in northern Zambraniyah, Iraq, March, 10, 2008. String, a joint terminal attack controller, is deployed with the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway

Labels: 3ID, Iraq, photos, USAF, Zambraniyah

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Report shows increase in Iraq violence
Iraqi police raid Mehdi Army strongholds
New Patrol Base Under Construction Near Sayifiyah
Civilian bus attacked by EFP near Basra, one soldier and one civilian wounded
Coalition force Soldiers attacked by IED (Ad Diwaniyah)
Al-Kut ISWAT and U.S. Special Forces destroy van, kill several armed suspects
VBIED kills 7, injures 11 at Sons of Iraq checkpoint near Balad
US Troop Returns to be Based on Success, Bush Says

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghan detainee to appear in Gitmo court
Soldier Receives Medal

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
House Fails to Override Bush Veto of CIA Waterboarding
Hamas sets terms for ceasefire with Israel
Gitmo detainees allowed phone calls

Fallen Heroes
Late Pat Tillman on College Hall ballot
Kansas Aircrew Brings WWII Comrades Back

Supporting Our Heroes
Stars Rock Kuwaiti Desert in Support of Troops - Photos
'Pease Greeters' Get Presidential Thanks for Supporting Troops

Other Military News
Admiral Fallon Resigns as Head of Centcom
Gates Accepts CENTCOM Chief's Resignation - Video
Transcript: Gates' Announcement
President's Statement on Fallon
Chairman 'Respects, Honors' Fallon's Retirement Decision
Cheney says US needs missile defense

Worldwide Wackos
Leader tells Iranians to back U.S. foes in vote

Politics / Government
Official say NY Gov. Spitzer to resign
Poll: New Yorkers think Spitzer should go
Video: On Wall St., little pity for Spitzer
Friend Fox upset his name used as alias
Stand By Your Man - Spitzer's wife reportedly urging him to stay on
RAW DATA: Fast Facts on Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson
Power and Prostitutes: Why Powerful Men Can't Help Themselves
Spitzer tripped up on laws he enforced
Spitzer's troubles ready-made for jokes
'Hollywood Madam' Heidi Fleiss: Client 9 Is an Arrogant Jerk
Candidates debate Iraq five years later
Obama a Hit in Miss.; Hill Works Pa.
DELEGATE COUNT
Romney: I'd Be 'Honored' to Be McCain's No. 2
Obama Rips Ferraro's 'Slice and Dice' Politics
Putin Warns of 'Chopping Off Paws' of Corrupt Politicans
Suicide doctor plans congressional run (Congressman Death?)

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Person of Interest in Missing S.C. Couple Case Found Dead
Massachusetts Teacher Resigns After Violent Lesson With Student Is Caught on Video
Mary Ann of 'Gilligan's Island' Caught With Marijuana in Car
Man Pleads Guilty to Filming Sex With Underage Girls as Young as 5
Elementary School Custodian Booked With Raping 10-Year-Old Boys
Three New Jersey Teens Charged With Sexually Assaulting Special Education Student
L.A. Gangster Charged in Death of Football Star - PHOTOS
RADLEY BALKO: Questionable Murder Charge in Virginia
Cops: Mom Throws 2 Kids From Overpass, Then Jumps
Mom on Trial for Leaving Child in Car for Just Minutes
New arrest made in SocGen scandal
Jodie Foster stalker arrested after bomb threats

U.N. News
U.N. tells Serbia to quit interfering in Kosovo

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
War against Web tops music biz "screw-ups" list
YouTube lets developers build their own YouTubes

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
1,000 Sparks in Your Pocket?
Saturn Space Probe to Dive Through Moon's Geysers
Firefighter Dies After Contracting Brain-Eating Amoeba
Mideast Commander Critical of U.S. Iran Policy Resigns
Astronauts Look at Endeavour's Hull
Shuttle in good shape as it heads to space station - Video
Space shuttle in good shape
Meteorite hit Peru fast and hard: study
Quarter of teen girls have sex-related disease
New CPR method boosts survival from cardiac arrest
Slaughterhouse exec defends himself
Parents may be jailed over vaccinations

Mother Nature
Cash for Cats: Iowa Town Offers Bounty for Stray Felines
Man clinging to boat: Save my dog first
EPA may tighten smog rules

News from My Neck of the Woods
Defense rests in NYC child-murder trial

Oddities
Little Person Dressed as Gnome Caught on Video 'Stalking' Streets of Argentina Town
"Client 9" T-shirts hit the Web
Yes, I'd like to renew this, please...
Woman tries to bring skeleton on plane

Other News of Note
Monks protest in Tibet
China fires tear gas on monks protesting in Tibet - Video
For some in U.S., guns are a hobby like any other (This is news?)
Mideast trade rekindles Silk Road
Lance Mackey wins 2nd straight Iditarod

Fox News
D.C. Group Offers 'Worst' Teachers $10G to Quit
Alanis' Jagged Little Problem
Reality Check: The 'Idol' Battles Begin

Reuters
Kenyan forces arrest 69 militiamen in offensive
China to critics: Back off
China again vows cleaner air for Beijing
Chinese...it's easy
Hawaiian swimmer hopes to harness wave power
Bulgaria lifters want a clean sheet in Beijing
Okinawa cuisine: tofu, Spam and root beer
Tribeca Film Festival comes with all the trimmings
Home loan demand drops as rates near 5-month high
Bear Stearns CEO says liquidity strong
U.S. recession has already started, CFOs say-survey
Berkshire's Jain: risk of insuring muni bonds rising
Time, markets to seal U.S. muni insurance fate: regulator
Chinese major to shake up miners
Russia to buy $78.7 bln of airplanes by 2026-Airbus
Carlyle Group says impact of CCC troubles limited
Market flat after Fed-led rally; Humana drops
Oil steadies near $109 after record high
Humana cuts 1st-qtr profit forecast by almost half
CAT raises 2010 revenue outlook to $60 billion
W.W. Grainger February daily sales rise
Progressive February profit plunges; stock falls
Euro hits record high at $1.55-Reuters dealing
Gold rises 1 pct on weaker dollar, targets $1,000
American Eagle quarterly profit falls
Risky bargains
Locked in vicious cycle

AP World News
Stocks trade mixed after sharp rally
Kobe leads Lakers past Raptors, 117-108
Thaksin pleads not guilty in Thai court
XM Radio to launch George Strait channel

News Blaze
Ironhorse Tracker Radio Newscast Available
Warrior Soldiers work with Iraqi Soldiers to distribute Humanitarian Aid bags
'Bayaa Leaders Sign Reconciliation Agreement' Video Package Available
IA Mechanics Learn About Nuts, Bolts
PHOTOS: Strykehorse Soldiers Donate Dolls
PHOTOS: Visits Striker Brigade
Her Commitment is to Help
PHOTO: The Eagle Has Landed
Iraq News
Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Paratroopers inspect hydro project
Troops conduct remote medical training
Arab Jabour power lines nearly complete
Haditha girl home after heart surgery in U.S.
Spanish PRT opens orphanage in Qala-e-Naw

USJFCOM
Targeting school revising courses to prepare students - podcast
More about Joint Targeting School
SOCJFCOM continues to ready warfighters for global operations - podcast
More about SOCJFCOM
Phase one of Multinational Experiment 5 wraps up
More about Multinational Experiment 5

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Iskandariyah Vocational School Benefits Residents
‘Village of Hope’ Aims to Boost Hawr Rajab Economy
Iraqi Police in western Iraq seize 5 major weapons caches, detain 1
Coalition disrupts al-Qaeda in Iraq networks; five killed, 11 detained

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Mullen Calls Commands Models of Cooperation
Troops Detain 11 Suspected Terrorists

MILITARY NEWS
DoD Stands By Tanker Aircraft Contract Decision
Top Korea Commander Urges Three-Year Tours

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Rock Star Turned Army Sergeant Chooses to Serve

FACE OF DEFENSE
Army Wife Makes Most of Long Separations

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

Philippines
Baler Radar Site Catanduanes Radar Site Manila

South Korea
Cheju Upper/Radar Chonju Chunchon Inch'on Kunsan Masan Mokp'o
Osan Pusan Seoul Suwon Taegu Taejon Tonghae Radar Site Ulsan Yosu

Today in History
0417 - St Innocent I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0604 - St. Gregory I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1000 - Odo of Lagery elected as Pope Urban II, replacing Victor III
1054 - Pope Leo IX escapes captivity & returns to Rome
1144 - Gherardo Caccianemici elected Pope Lucius II, succeeding Callistus II
1350 - Orvieto city says it will behead & burn Jewish-Christian couples
1496 - Jews are expelled from Syria
1587 - English parliament leader Peter Wentworth confined in London Tower
1597 - England routes troops to Amiens
1609 - Bermuda becomes an English colony
1619 - Dutch settlement on Java changes name to Batavia
1622 - Ignatius of Loyola declared a saint
1642 - Abel Tasman is 1st European in New Zealand
1664 - 1st naturalization act in American colonies; New Jersey becomes a British colony
1689 - Former English King James II lands in Ireland
1737 - Galileo's body moved to Church of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy
1755 - 1st steam engine in America installed, to pump water from a mine
1773 - Jeanne Baptiste Pointe de Sable found settlement now known as Chicago
1789 - US Post Office established
1799 - Austria declares war on France
1848 - 2nd republic established in France
1849 - 1st gold seekers arrive in Nicaragua en route to California
1850 - 1st US $20 gold piece issued
1860 - Congress accepts Pre-emption Bill; free land in West for colonists
1865 - Affair near Lone Jack, MO
1867 - Last French troops leave Mexico
1868 - Congress abolishes manufacturer's tax; Great Britain annexes Basutoland in Africa
1877 - Great Britain annexes Walvis Bay at Cape colony
1884 - Mississippi establishes 1st US state college for women
1888 - 2nd day of the Great blizzard of '88 in northeast US (400 die)
1889 - Battle at Metema (Gallabad); Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV, defeated
1900 - President Steyn of Orange-Free state flees from Bloemfontein
1903 - New York Highlanders (Yankees) approved as members of American League
1904 - 1st main line electric train in UK (Liverpool to Southport)
1906 - Heavy storm ravages Dutch west coast
1912 - Captain Albert Berry performs 1st parachute jump from an airplane
1916 - French airship sinks British submarine D3
1917 - Russian Dumas sets up Provisional Committee; workers set up Soviets; Stalin, Kamenev & Muranov arrive in St Petersburg
1919 - Austrian National Meeting affirms Anschluss (incorporate into Germany)
1925 - British government of Baldwin refuses to ratify Geneva agreement
1926 - Denmark begins unilateral disarmament
1930 - Mohandas Gandhi begins 200 mile (321 km) march protesting British salt tax
1933 - FDR conducts his 1st "fireside chat"
1934 - Acting President Constantine Päts commits coup in Tallinn, Estonia; Josip Broz (Tito) freed from jail
1938 - Nazi Germany invades Austria (Anschluss)
1939 - Pope Pius XII crowned in Vatican ceremonies
1940 - Finland surrenders to Russia during WWII, giving up Karelische Isthmus
1941 - German occupiers confiscate AVRO studios in Netherlands
1942 - British troops vacate the Andamanen in Gulf of Bengal
1943 - Soviet troops liberate Wjasma
1945 - 30 Amsterdammers executed by Nazi occupiers; Italy's Communist Party (CPI) calls for armed uprising in Italy; New York is 1st to prohibit discrimination by race & creed in employment; The British Empire celebrates its 1st British Empire Day; USSR returns Transylvania to Romania
1946 - Part of Petsamo province ceded by Soviet Union to Finland
1947 - Belgian government of Huysmans resigns; President Truman introduces Truman-doctrine to fight communism
1950 - Belgium votes (58%) for return of King Leopold III
1951 - Communist troops driven out of Seoul
1957 - German Democratic Republic accepts 22 Russian divisions
1958 - British Empire Day is renamed "Commonwealth Day"
1959 - Dutch Liberal Party wins 2nd parliamentary elections; US House joins Senate approving Hawaii statehood
1962 - Dutch Premier De Quay announces secret talks with Indonesia
1964 - Jimmy Hoffa sentenced to 8 years; Malcolm X resigns from Nation of Islam
1966 - Pioneer Plaza dedicated [San Francisco]
1967 - Indonesian congress deprives President Sukarno of authority
1968 - Mauritius gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1970 - US lowers voting age from 21 to 18
1971 - Syrian premier Hafez Assad elected President; Turkish Government of Demirel forced to resign by Army
1975 - Vietcong conquer Ban me Thuot, South Vietnam
1976 - South African troops leave Angola
1977 - Chile President Pinochet bans Christian-Democratic Party; Egypt's Anwar Sadat pledges to regain Arab territory from Israel
1980 - Jury finds John Wayne Gacy guilty of murdering 33 in Chicago
1981 - Soyuz T-4 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station; Walter R.T. Witschey installs world's largest sundial, Richmond, VA
1982 - PLO chief Yassar Arafat appears on "Nightline"
1984 - British ice dancing team, Torvill & Dean, become 1st skaters to receive 9 perfect 6.0s in world championships
1986 - Giotto encounters Comet Halley
1987 - Federal judge dismisses lawsuits sought by Oliver North
1989 - 2 cyanide-contaminated Chilean grapes found (Philadelphia); Madagascar AREMA party wins parliamentary election
1993 - 317 killed by bomb attacks in Bombay; Inkhata leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi begins 2½ week speech
1994 - Church of England ordains 1st 33 women priests
1995 - Congress party loses India national election

Birthdays
1336 - Eduard Duke of Gelre (1361-71) husband of Catharina of Bayern
1479 - Giuliano de' Medici monarch of Florence
1755 - Georges Couthon French politician
1758 - Leopold, Earl of Limburg Stirum, Dutch General/politician [or March 22]
1806 - Jane Means Appleton Pierce 1st lady-Franklin Pierce (1853-57)
1816 - David Stuart Brigadier General
1818 - John Lorimar Worden, Union Navy Captain
1821 - Luitpold von Bayern, Prince-regent of Bayern; Sir John Abbott Québec Canada, (C) 3rd Canadian Prime Minister (1891-92)
1823 - William Flank Perry, Confederate Brigadier General
1824 - Gustav R. Kirchoff, Prussian physicist (spectral analysis)
1827 - John Robert Jones and William Richard Terry, Confederate Brigadier Generals
1830 - William Felix Brantley, Confederate Brigadier General
1831 - Clement Studebaker, automobile pioneer (Studebaker)
1835 - Simon Newcomb, US scientist/mathematician/astronomer
1862 - Jane Delano, nurse/teacher/founder (Red Cross)
1863 - Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer/military hero (The Intruder)
1877 - Wilhelm Frick German, protector of Bohemia/Moravia
1878 - Gemma Galgani, Italian saint
1881 - Daniel Webster Hoan, Mayor-Socialist-Milwaukee; Kemal Atatürk, 1st President of Republic of Turkey; Väinö A. Tanner premier of Finland (1926-27)
1900 - David Croll, QC senator
1907 - Margaret "Peggy" McCrorie, Herbison politician
1908 - David Saul Marshall, diplomat, lawyer/politician
1911 - Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, President of Mexico
1912 - James McKay, lord provost of Edinburgh
1917 - Tom Normanton, British MP
1922 - Lane Kirkland, union president (AFL-CIO)
1923 - Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Captain USN/astronaut (Mercury 8, Gemini 6, Apollo 7)
1925 - Leo Esaki [Esaki Reona], Japan, physicist (Tunnel effect-Nobel 1973)
1925 - William G. Whitehurst (Representative-VA)
1926 - David Oliver Williams, trade unionist (COHSE); George R. Ariyoshi (Governor-HI)
1927 - Raul Alfonsin President (Argentina)
1929 - Lupe Anguiano, Mexican-American civil rights activist
1930 - Antony Acland, provost of Eton/British ambassador to US
1932 - Andrew Young, US ambassador to UN (1977-79)/(Mayor-Atlanta)
1936 - Lloyd Dobbins, newscaster (NBC News Overnight)
1938 - Norman Hogg, British MP
1942 - Salvatore "the Bull" Gravano, mobster (testified against Gotti)
1948 - Kent Conrad (Senator-ND); Virginia Bottomley, British minister of state health/secretary (Heritage)
1949 - David Mellor, Secretary of the British treasury/MP; Mary Alice Williams news reporter (NBC-TV)

Passings
0417 - Innocent I, Italian Pope (401-417)
0604 - Gregory I the Great Pope (590-604)
1507 - Cesare Borgia cardinal/soldier/politician, killed in battle at 31
1570 - Jacob van den Eynden, Grand Pensionary of Holland, dies
1628 - John Bull, thought to have composed British national anthem (God Save The King)
1888 - Henry Bergh, founder (ASPCA), dies at 76
1889 - Yohannes IV [Kasa], Emperor of Ethiopia (1872-89)
1902 - John Peter Altgeld, German/US Governor of Illinois, dies at 54
1914 - George Westinghouse, US engineer (Westinghouse Electric), dies at 67
1924 - Hilaire Comte de Chardonnet, inventor (rayon)
1925 - Sun Yat-Sen, Chinese revolutionary president, dies at 58
1945 - Anne Frank, diarist (Diary of Anne Frank), killed in Belsen Camp
1958 - Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, dies at 79
1974 - Billy Fox, Protestant member of Dublin parliament, assassinated
1992 - Hans G. Kresse, Dutch cartoonist (Eric the Viking), dies at 70
1992 - Salvo Lima, mayor (Palermo)/MP (christian-democrat), murdered
1993 - Wang Zhen, Marxist/vice-premier of China (1988)
1996 - Gyula Kallai Prime Minister of Hungary (1965-67), dies at 85

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Adrian, Joseph D., USAF (NJ); F100 shot down

Clark, John W., USAF (MO); RF4C shot down (w/Goodrich), released February, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Goodrich, Edwin, USAF (NY); KIA during capture - remains returned August, 1985

1968
Griffith, John Gary, USN (MO); A6A ditched right off the catapault (w/Kollman), Killed, body not recovered

Kollmann, Glenn E., USN (CA); A6A ditched right off the catapault (w/Griffith), Killed, body not recovered

Rogers, Edward F., USMC (MA); KIA, body not recovered

1969
Robinson, Floyd H., US Army (KS); disappeared after a heavy firefight

1970
Scull, Gary B., US Army (IA); disappeared after outpost came under heavy fire

1971
Jeffs, Clive G., USAF (UT); F100D shot down

1975
Mitchell, Betty J.; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Phillips, Lillian M.; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Phillips, Richard L., released from Hanoi October, 1975

Scarborough, Jay; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Dolan, Edward V., Civilian - Air America; DC4 crashed

Miller, George C., Civilian - Air America; DC4 crashed

Miller, Carolyn P., Civilian - Wycliff Bible Translators; captured by NVN, released from Hanoi October, 1975

Miller, John D., Civilian - Wycliff Bible Translators; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Miller, John D., Civilian - Wycliff Bible Translators; released from Hanoi October, 1975

Seidl, Robert, Civilian - Air America; DC4 crashed

Labels: Headlines, History