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WASHINGTON D.C. (January 16, 2008) - Operation Phantom Phoenix,
a series of division- and brigade-level strikes against al Qaeda
and other extremists in Iraq, continues to disrupt terrorist safe
havens and bases, a top military official said.
The joint coalition-Iraqi forces operation, launched Jan. 8,
also is achieving gains for Iraqi citizens, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin
Bergner, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters
today during a briefing at Camp Victory. in Baghdad.
"This is a tough fight on many levels, and it will continue to
be so," he said. "But even as offensive operations pressure the
extremist networks, there are steps being taken to improve services
and support for the citizens of Iraq."
Describing military progress achieved in Phantom Phoenix's first
week, Bergner said Multinational Division North and Iraqi forces
responsible for the cities of Balad, Kirkuk, Tikrit, Mosul and
Samarra detained 193 extremists, killed 60 others and found 79
weapons caches.
During a raid northeast of Fallujah on Jan. 14, the Iraqi army
located a cache that contained more than 90 mortar rounds, blasting
caps, and small-arms ammunition. "The capturing unit estimates that
cache contained enough ordnance to construct over 20 (improvised
explosive devices)," Bergner added.
Elsewhere in Iraq Jan. 14, Iraqi special operations forces in
Mosul detained a terrorist cell leader. The cell was involved in
storing and emplacing IEDs and car bombs for use in attacks
throughout the city. The suspect allegedly is responsible for
kidnapping and murdering innocent Iraqi civilians, the general
said.
Bergner said coalition forces discovered a "complex cache site"
and underground bunker system Jan. 12 in Tikrit. Troops also found
several log books containing al Qaeda members' names and assigned
weapons and a map of IED locations.
"The 70-meter complex included a building for constructing
improvised explosive devices, as well as two underground bunkers,"
he said. "The site contained weapons and explosives, including
small arms, components for 10 IEDs, and small-arms ammunition."
South of Baghdad early in the operation, coalition forces and
Iraqi army soldiers on Jan. 10 nabbed more than 50 extremists,
including one suspect who military officials believe is linked to
the assassination of a tribal leader in November. During the joint
operations, soldiers also discovered a bomb-making facility and
destroyed two large-caliber mortar systems.
On Jan. 8, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of
Multinational Corps Iraq, announced the beginning of Phantom
Phoenix, describing it as a lethal and nonlethal operation to
exploit recent security gains and disrupt terrorist support zones
and enemy leadership.
"Working closely with the Iraqi security forces, we will
continue to pursue al Qaeda and other extremists wherever they
attempt to take sanctuary," Odierno said, according to a Jan. 8
Multinational Corps Iraq news release. "Iraqi citizens continue to
reject extremist elements. We are determined not to allow these
brutal elements to have respite anywhere in Iraq."
Odierno said the operation's nonlethal aspects are designed to
improve delivery of essential services, economic development and
local governance capacity.
Speaking about nonmilitary successes today, Bergner praised
Iraqi lawmakers for passing legislation on de-Baathification
reform, a measure that will allow vetted members of Saddam
Hussein's Baath party to hold certain government or public-service
jobs.
"We offer our sincere congratulations to the members of the
Iraqi Council of Representatives who worked extremely hard to reach
a series of political compromises that resulted in passage of the
Accountability and Justice Law." Bergner said of the legislation.
"This is an Iraqi law, formulated by Iraqi leaders, that addresses
uniquely Iraqi issues."
In another nonmilitary success during Phantom Phoenix, Bergner
said, Iraqi health care providers gathered in Baghdad last week for
a two-day medical conference, the first of its kind in more than 15
years. Organizing the conference were members of Iraq's Ministry of
Health, the International Medical Society, Medical Alliance for
Iraq and the Health Attache's Office of the U.S. Embassy. More than
200 Iraqi doctors attended the conference, including a number who
had remained outside Iraq for many years.
"As the country's security continues to improve, Iraqi doctors
who left here during the Saddam era are now considering coming back
to Iraq and their government is working to facilitate their
return," Bergner said.
"Some (positive steps), like this conference, will take time to
develop and provide a tangible improvement in the lives of the
Iraqi people," he added. "Nevertheless, those steps are being
taken, albeit slowly and with many more yet to come."
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