Published: April 12, 2006
Information Gathered During Operation Swarmer Nets Anti-Iraqi Forces
Sgt. Waine D. Haley, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
AD DWAR, Iraq (April 11, 2006) - Coalition Forces and the Iraqi Army worked together to detain five suspected conspirators aligned with anti-Iraqi forces during a night raid March 31st in the city of Ad Dwar, Iraq.
Sgt. James P. Candill, Charlie Troop, 2/9th Cavalry attached to the Rakkasans of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division from Colorado Springs, CO, watches a detainee during a night raid in Ad Dwar, Iraq.
U.S. Army photo: Sgt. Waine D. Haley |
Charlie Troop, better know as the "Comanche" Troop, 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment attached to the Rakkasans of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, conducted the raid after receiving information gathered from Operation Swarmer. Swarmer was one of the largest joint Coalition Forces and Iraqi Army operations to date. "Comanche" Troop works in joint operations with the 4th Iraqi Army Division at Forward Operating Base Wilson.
The night raid consisted of two Coalition Forces teams and one Iraqi Army team targeting homes of wanted insurgents. The mission led to the detaining of five individuals, all of whom were considered to be "secondary targets", individuals thought to be conspirators with anti-Iraqi forces.
The first raided home yielded a two-liter bottle containing metal pellets, a smaller bottle, containing gun-powder and small amount of wire; all possible IED parts. They also uncovered an unregistered automatic weapon.
Found at the second home was a large amount of anti-Iraqi propaganda, assorted Iraqi Police gear, two rifles and various electronic items that might be used as IED detonation-devices. None of this home's residents were Iraqi Police. IP gear is sometimes stolen and used to establish fake check-points. Anti-Iraqi forces have been known to employ this tactic to disrupt Iraq's stabilization process.
Two detainees were questioned and released at the third home.
Capt. Tom Fournier, "Comanche" Troop Commander, from Exeter, N.H., said they conducted numerous other raids over the three days prior to March 31st capturing a number of other suspected anti-Iraqi Forces, all based on information gathered from Operation Swarmer.
The success of the missions conducted over the past few days was attributed to the Iraqi Army's involvement in the mission.
Some of the items found during the joint night raid mission with the Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces in Ad Dwar, Iraq that netted five suspected anti-Iraqi Forces conspirators.
U.S. Army photo: Sgt. Waine D. Haley |
"The Iraqi Army is stepping into their position well," Fournier said.
Fournier thinks there are definite advantages to letting the Iraqi Army have more involvement in these operations. They know the area, the language and the people, allowing them to better decipher intelligence. Fournier knows this first hand, having served with the Military Transition Team training members of the Iraqi Army, in Tikrit, Iraq before coming to Ad Dwar.
"I think people back in the States think [the Iraqi Army is] doing their own thing while we are doing ours, but it's not that way," Fournier said. "I think part of our growing success is the bond between our Soldiers and their Soldiers."
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