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Building Iraq responsibility

According to a June 3 Iraq Council of Minister's press release, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently affirmed that the responsibility of building Iraq is a mutual one for the people and government together.

In a speech June 2 during his first visit to Basra since the Iraqi government was ratified by the parliament, the prime minister said, "Many aspects led to deterioration in [the] security situation in Basra ... the government will face criminal gangs and evil forces, and will smash them to conduct peace and stability within the province, which represents Iraqi's beating heart and vital stream of commercial dealings with world countries."

He also said that security comes first, second and third.

According to another Iraqi government press statement, Iraqi security forces are continuing to pursue and defeat terrorists groups and criminal gangs throughout the country. The statement listed a series of successful operations that led to several significant weapons caches, terrorists killed and detained, and the discovery of several bobby traps and other improvised explosive devices.

In another success for the Iraqi security forces, Iraqi police, and soldiers from 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, seized weapons from inside a mosque in the Adhamiyah section of Baghdad May 31.

The Iraqi security forces surrounded the Mohammed Rasool mosque after receiving small-arms fire from terrorists holed up inside the mosque. After the Iraqi Ministry of Defense granted permission to enter the mosque, the Iraqi Soldiers and police entered and cleared the mosque.

No terrorists were found during the search of the mosque, but abandoned weapons seized inside the mosque included 11 AK-47s, two rocket-propelled grenade launchers, three RPG rounds, a motorcycle and bomb-making materials.

In another Iraqi army operation May 31, scouts from the 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, raided a Baghdad housing compound and captured three insurgents who were members of an improvised explosive device cell.

The scouts, assisted by Coalition forces advisers, raided three separate objectives simultaneously in the Al Rasheed district in east central Baghdad. They captured three key members of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device cell operating in the Al Doura area of Baghdad. This cell is responsible for making VBIEDs and carrying out attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces.

The scouts also detained five other individuals and captured two AK-47 assault rifles and six magazines, or about 180 rounds of AK-47 ammunition.

According to a senior Coalition forces adviser, this mission was a success because it was executed so rapidly the scouts were able to achieve complete surprise.

No Iraqi forces, Coalition forces or civilians were killed or wounded during this operation.

Source: Multi-National Force-Iraq