With the coalition forces having made significant progress in Anbar and in the “Baghdad Belts” al Qaeda and other allied insurgent groups have been pushed into the northern areas of Iraq where they have stepped up their operations, including the deadliest suicide bombings of the war in four rural Yazidi villages. The attacks left upwards of 500 civilians dead.
The next stage of the coalition offensive kicked off om September 5th, Operation Lighting Hammer II. From Bill Roggio:
Called Operation Lightning Hammer II, the offensive is aimed at al Qaeda’s network in Salahadin, Ninewa, Diyala, and Kirkuk provinces.
Operation Lightning Hammer II is a corps-sized operation, consisting of over 14,000 Iraqi Security Forces and 12,000 US troops. “Attack helicopters, close-air support, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Stryker Vehicles and tanks compliment the combined effort,” Multinational Forces Iraq reported.
Hopefully the momentum of the prior operations can be maintained and al Qaeda and its affiliated groups can be kept off balance. Early reports are positive:
“The Za’ab triangle is the main effort for our operations,” said Col. Stephen Twitty, the commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 1st Calvary Division during a Pentagon press briefing on September 7. Twitty runs the battlespace in Ninewa province, and recently assumed command of segments of northern Salahadin province in support of Lightning Hammer II. “[The Za'ab triangle] is an area that has seen very little coalition presence in previous months.” The Za’ab triangle is delineated by the Tigris River and Ninewa, Irbil, and Kirkuk provinces, and has served as an al Qaeda safe haven.
Twitty is executing Gen. David Petraeus’ counterinsurgency doctrine of clear, hold and build in the north. “As we destroy safe havens in the area, we’re setting conditions for permanent presence in the Za’ab for coalition and Iraqi security forces by establishing Iraqi police stations and checkpoints to cut off the terrorists from freedom of movement,” he said. Iraqi and US forces killed 25 terrorists and detained over 50 since the operation began on September 5.
[tags] Operation Lightening Hammer II, MNF-I, Iraq, war, al Qaeda, Ninewa, Irbil, Kirkuk, Za’ab triangle [/tags]
