The Battle for Diyala - 04-05 January 08

The Battle for Diyala continues with Coalition Forces conducting a series of raids. The below picture details a series of MNF-I Press Releases from 04 to 05 January 2008. Click on the image to enlarge.

Coalition forces continue to use actionable intelligence to kill or capture Al Qaeda in Iraq and Special Groups in the Diyala Province. As one can see from the image above, Coalition forces are continuing to encircle Al Qaeda where they have established a base of operations in the lake in the Kanaqin district of the Diyala province. Once Coalition Forces are able to rout Al Qaeda from the lake, they will have successfully cut off their major line of communication between the Hamrin Ridge and Baghdad.

The Hamrin Ridge has been a known safe haven and training location for Al Qaeda earlier in the war and as late as October 2007. This ridge is dotted with many caves that allow Al Qaeda to hide plus the mixture of Arabs, Turkomans and Kurds allow Al Qaeda to hide among the area's mix demographic population.

In addition, Coalition Forces also are using actionable intelligence to kill or capture Al Qaeda in along the Tigris River Valley from Balad to Samarra to Tikrit. This action will close Al Qaeda's remaining line of communiction in the MND-N's zone.

It is in these locations that remaing 25% of Al Qaeda is attempting to regenerate it command and control structure and re-estblish its base of operations. As part of Operation Phantom Strike, a corps-level offensive, MND-N, Iraqi Army, and Special Forces are attacking Al Qaeda in their last remaining safe havens. The operation aims to prevent al Qaeda, Sunni, and Shi’a insurgent elements from reconstituting their forces in Baghdad, its belts, or elsewhere. U.S. and Iraqi forces seek to destroy the remnants of enemy groups and eliminate any new safe havens they try to establish. Their operations are also aiming to prevent Shiite militias from taking over territory once controlled by al Qaeda. This is why Special Groups are also being targeted.