Published: April 12, 2006
Dirty Roads in Iraq
By Spc. Cassandra Groce, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detach. 
Iraqi Army soldiers from the Fourth Iraqi Army Division gather information about suspicious activities in small villages north of Kirkuk, Iraq.
US Army photo by SPC Cassandra Groce (133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detach.) |
KIRKUK, Iraq - Fourth Iraqi Army Division soldiers and Delta Company Soldiers have found challenges with insurgents traveling through their operating area, avoiding Iraqi Army checkpoints.
Miles of farmland divide Kirkuk from the northeastern "Jubal Mountain" so insurgents use the countless farm trails to circumvent the checkpoints.
"There are three or four mountain passes they use to get over to the other side," said Capt. Matthew Paul Delta Company Commander, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
Iraqi Army soldiers in Kirkuk, Iraq, frequently visit the villages surrounding the city to gather any information that will help them combat the insurgency.
US Army photo by SPC Cassandra Groce (133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detach.) |
"They go to Hawija and perform terrorist operations," continued Paul. "They gather weapons and then bring them back. They come back the same way. So it is important for us to engage these villages here so they can keep an eye out for that type of thing."
In addition to avoiding checkpoints, insurgents have also started kidnapping locals.
"What they are doing a lot of lately is...kidnapping; there have been a lot of kidnapping attempts in these villages," said Paul.
Insurgents do this for money to fund their terrorist operations. One kidnapping happened just down the road from where Iraqi Army soldiers were working.
Iraqi Army soldiers are now taking this discovery and countering it with help from local civilians.
Small dirt roads throughout fields north of Kirkuk, Iraq, have been a route used by insurgents avoiding Iraqi checkpoints. Iraqi Army soldiers now travel these roads to warn villagers of the danger.
US Army photo by SPC Cassandra Groce (133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detach.) |
The Iraqi Army conducts village patrols. They drive to the various villages in their area of operation (AO) and engage some of the local leaders to disseminate and gather information.
"Since they don't keep a permanent presence out here, they rely very heavily on the people, and what they've heard and seen, to provide us with the intel we need to focus our operations," explained Paul.
These information-gathering patrols are a seven-days-a-week affair for the Iraqi Army Soldiers. While they also do missions focused on actually finding and removing an insurgent, the intelligence gathering is a very important part of the fight in Iraq.
"This is a big part of their mission, being an information war, as far as controlling the information, and as far as the information these villages are receiving because they are very isolated," said Paul.
Iraqi people are often unaware of local events due to their village's isolation.
Villagers north of Kirkuk, Iraq, have been eager to help Iraqi Army soldiers fight the insurgents. This is most likely because insurgents have been attempting to kidnap their neighbors.
US Army photo by SPC Cassandra Groce (133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detach.) |
"It is very important that we come and speak to these individuals and tell them what's going on, not only in the immediate area, but country-wide," said Paul. "We also need to be the first to receive information from them as far as enemy activity in the area."
This constant search for information will hopefully cut down on insurgents sneaking past the Iraqi Army checkpoints and harming other Iraqi civilians. Coalition Forces also hope that this will cut down on kidnapping attempts on these back roads.
"This is more than just gathering information (for the Iraqi Army), it is gaining the trust and confidence of their people before taking control of the area," said Paul.
Luckily for the Iraqis, their Army is efficient at gathering information.
"They are very good," said Paul. "They can come into these villages and do 10 times better than we ever could as far as gathering information just because they are Iraqis and they know the people better than we do and the culture better than we do."
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