Progress in Iraqi hotbed may lead to US troop cut: commander

Source: AFP



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070713/pl_afp/usiraqmilitary

for a reduction.

just today another article reported how we worked with Iraqi security forces,

by having a gun battle with them, dropping bombs and killing them all. Dead.

Now you are saying there is progress because you are going to work with Iraqi security forces?

Good luck with that.

Here's a quick search of Iraq Front News (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IraqFrontNews ) for "Diyala":

4274 Round-up of daily violence, Wednesday 11 July 2007
... dead bodies throughout the capital today. 5 in Amil, 3 in Bayaa, 6 in Saidiyah, 1 in Sadr, 1 in Ealam, 1 in Zayunah, 1 in Ur. Diyala - A mortar shell landed in Al Muqdadiyah. 4 citizens were injured. - An IED explosion targeted an Iraqi army convoy in Baqouba ...

4238 Al Qaeda's Strength 'Undiminished' in Iraq
... dropped dramatically in Anbar Province, the number of attacks has risen sharply in four other provinces: Baghdad, Salahaddin, Diyala and Basra. In June, there were a record 55 attacks with Iranian-made roadside bombs -- called explosively formed penetrators ...

4192 Report: Sunni extremists attack village
... village northwest of Baghdad in a fierce battle with residents that reportedly left dozens dead, the deputy governor of Iraq's Diyala province said Tuesday. (more)

4125 Too few men hunting Al Qaeda
... sheikh was on the phone. Sixty Al Qaeda fighters had returned to a nearby village Friday. Could the Iraqi Army commander in western Diyala Province please send help? (more)

4118 In Iraqi Hamlet, 'A Funeral Service In Every House'
... special correspondent on Sunday visited Amerli, nestled in a barren, desolate patch between the town of Tuz Khormato and volatile Diyala province, where U.S. forces are mounting an intense campaign to weed out al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni Arab extremists. On ...

4071 Round-up of daily violence, Sunday 8 July 2007
... following neighborhoods (four bodies in Adhemiyah, three bodies in Sleikh, three bodies in Ur and two bodies in Baghdad Al Jadida). Diyala - Two gunmen were injured and captured by the Iraqi security forces in clashes in Al Mualimeen and Salama neighborhoods in Miqdadiyah ...

4031 Round-up of daily violence, Saturday 7 July 2007
... shooting in the city. - A roadside bomb exploded targeting Iraqi police vehicle east of Kirkuk today. 2 policemen were injured. Diyala - Around 9.30 pm on Friday a suicide car targeted a funeral at Zerkush in Jalwla (north east of Baqouba) killing 22 people and ...

4007 No Drop in Iraq Violence Seen Since Troop Buildup
... said. Overall, however, violence "has increased in most provinces, particularly in the outlying areas of Baghdad province and Diyala and Ninewa provinces," the report said. In Diyala's restive capital of Baqubah, U.S. and Iraq forces "have been unable to diminish ...

3953 Round-up of daily violence, Thursday 5 July 2007
... eastern side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (6 bodies in Sadr city, 1 body in Husseiniyah and 1 body in Sleikh.) Diyala - A source in the 5th Iraqi army division said that 4 Iraqi soldiers were killed while they were going to give support to another ...

3917 Roundup of daily violence, Wednesday 4 July 2007
... son of the sheikh) and injuring 7 other men. The incident took place on July 2, 2007 around midday in southwest Falluja area. Diyala (66 km north of Baghdad) - Tuesday morning, 3 terrorists were killed in clashes took place between the Iraqi security forces ...

3895 Roundup of daily violence, Tuesday 3 July 2007
... convoy killing two people and injuring 19 others (including 12 policemen) with some damage to civilian cars and shops nearby. Diyala (66 km north of Baghdad) - At dawn, gunmen wearing army uniform attacked some houses at Hawash Al-Bazania in northern Balad ...

3815 Roundup of daily violence - Monday 2 July 2007
... neighborhoods (1 body in Husseiniyah, 1 body in Sleikh, 1 body Zafaraniyah, 1 body in Karrada and 1 body in Bab Al Muadham.) Diyala - a security source in Diyala province said that 2 border forces officers were killed and other members were wounded in an IED ...

3816 Roundup of daily violence, Sunday 1 July 2007
... Shaab, 1 in Kadhmiya, 1 in Ghazaliyah, 1 in Shuala, 1 in Amil, 1 in Washash, 1 in Eskan, 1 in Bayaa, 2 in Saidiyah, 1 in Doura. Diyala - Police found 2 dead bodies in Al Khalis today. The bodies were found in the market area and in Elaibat. - Gunmen kidnapped ...

3707 Roundup of daily violence, Friday 29 June 2007
... residents said. - Police found 7 dead bodies throughout the capital today. 2 in Saidiyah, 2 in Doura, 1 in Shuala, 1 in Jisr Diyala, 1 in New Baghdad. Kirkuk - Gunmen injured two policemen in two separated incidents in Kirkuk last night. - Gunmen killed Kareem ...

3594 Round-up of daily violence, Wednesday June 27, 2007
... Washington Bureau. Baghdad - 3 civilians were killed and 10 wounded in an IED explosion in Sabi'a Abkar neighborhood around 12,30 pm. Diyala - Khalis - Medical sources in Diyala province said that 19 people were killed and 28 wounded yesterday afternoon and evening after ...

3476 Round-up of daily violence, Sunday 24 June 2007
... woman) and injuring two kids of one family with damage to a deserted kindergarten and Abdul Aziz mosque at Nazal neighborhood. Diyala (66 km north of Baghdad) - Around mid-day, a roadside bomb exploded targeting a mini bus (Kia model) which has passengers of ...

3389 'EFPs' a big threat to U.S. forces in Iraq - Walking safer than driving
... accused Shiite-run Iran of supplying EFPs to Sunni Arab insurgents as well as Shiites. The bombs have been found, for example, in Diyala province, where the military Thursday continued its offensive against Sunni insurgents who had taken over neighborhoods in Baqubah ...

3369 Suicide Bomber Kills 13 in Northern Iraq
... occurred about 10:30 a.m. in the town of Sulaiman Bek, located 100 miles north of the capital and just outside the border with Diyala province, where thousands of U.S. troops are engaged in an offensive against al-Qaida in Iraq. Read more (more) ...

3363 The Roundup of Violence - Thursday, 21 June 2007
... Hussein Kadhim McClatchy Newspapers Baghdad - Around 9.50 am, mortars are lobbed on the green zone (IZ) without casualties recorded. Diyala (66 km north of Baghdad) - Around Thursday noon, terrorists bombed a primary school in Qara Taba village (north of Baquba) causing ...

3307 Round-up of daily violence, Wednesday 20 June 2007
... following neighborhood (3 bodies in Sleikh, 2 bodies in Sadr, 2 bodies in Zayuna, 2 bodies in Rashad and 1 body in Al Qanat Street. Diyala. - 7 policemen including an officer when gunmen attacked their check point in Al Tahwila area in Khalis town north of Baquba ...

3293 Task Force Lightning Soldiers attacked - 1 killed, 2 wounded
... Force Lightning Soldier died as a result of injuries sustained from an explosion near his vehicle while conducting operations in Diyala Province June 19. Two Soldiers were also wounded and transported to a Coalition medical facility... (more)

3288 A war on rewind, in a bleaker Baghdad
... where Sunni tribal chiefs have turned against al-Qaida. But some of Anbar's long-running violence seems simply to have moved to Diyala, a province north of Baghdad. On Tuesday, more than 10,000 U.S. soldiers poured into Diyala's capital, Baqouba, on Tuesday as ...

3248 Security developments in Iraq, June 18
... km south of Baghdad, hospital and police sources said. BAQUBA - Gunmen attacked the office of Mohammed Abid, a manager in the Diyala electricity station, and shot him dead in the city of Baquba, police said. BAGHDAD - The bodies of five people were found in ...

3240 Round-up of daily violence, Monday 18 June 2007
... The clashes started when joint troops raided and searched houses. 17 were killed and 36 were injured, health officials said. Diyala - One citizen was killed and 20 were injured including police members in different attacks in Diyala province, Iraqi police ...

3215 Roundup of violence in Iraq - 17 June 2007
... wounded when an IED explosion targeted their patrol near the entrance of Siniyah district north of Tikrit city early morning. Diyala -- Gunmen opened fire killing a civilian in Khalis town north of Baquba city midday. -- A civilian was killed and 2 others wounded ...

3118 Security developments in Iraq, June 15
... killed by a roadside bomb while driving on combat operations in the northern city of Kirkuk on Thursday, the U.S military said. Diyala - One U.S. soldier was killed by small arms fire while conducting operations in Diyala Province on Thursday, the U.S. military ...

3073 Round-up of daily violence, Thursday 14 June 2007
... in the area. - Around 12.30 pm, seven mortars hit Nahrawan district ( south of Baghdad) without having casualties recorded. Diyala ( 66 km north of Baghdad) - Around 5 pm of Wednesday , gunmen planted bombs inside Ali Kamal Al-Deen shrine ( the son of Imam ...

3064 Suicide bomber destroys bridge in Iraq's Diyala
Suicide bomber destroys bridge in Iraq's Diyala Source: Reuters BAGHDAD, June 11 - A suicide car bomber struck a major bridge in Iraq's volatile Diyala province on Monday, police ...

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BUL045191.htm

* Diyala is a large, religiously and ethnically mixed province. Its capital Baquba lies about 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad in the west of the province, which stretches east to the Iranian border. It is a predominantly Sunni Arab province but also has significant Shi'ite and Kurdish populations.

* Diyala has become one of the hotbeds of Iraq's bloody insurgency, led by Sunni militants and Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, since a security crackdown was launched in Baghdad in mid-February by thousands of extra U.S. and Iraqi troops. The threat has increased since Sunni tribesmen in western Anbar province began forming U.S.-funded and trained provincial police units to fight al Qaeda there, driving more militants east.

* The Pentagon's most recent quarterly report to Congress said inter-sectarian violence and high-profile attacks such as suicide bombings had increased as al Qaeda and Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army battle for control of Diyala. An extra 3,000 troops were sent to Diyala in mid-March. But they and Iraqi Security Forces "have been unable to diminish rising sectarian violence contributing to the volatile security situation", according to the Pentagon report.

* In May, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki promised to match the injection of 3,000 U.S. troops with the same number of Iraqi Security Forces after sectarian fighting forced hundreds of families to flee. The Iraqi Red Crescent said 768 families left villages near the town of Khalis after they were forced out by al Qaeda militants. Insurgents have been trying to establish a Taliban-style rule by banning smoking, forcing schoolgirls to wear veils and attacking restaurants and Internet cafes deemed as "un-Islamic".

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