Al Qaeda almost defeated in Iraq reveals diary of captured insurgent.
Reporter | 10.02.2008 14:46 | Other Press
The U.S. military is set to release a document today that purports to show a group from al Qaeda in Iraq decimated by the U.S. surge of troops and the abandonment of local support for their terrorist tactics.
Captured by Soldiers of the 101st Airborne in what military officials called "a routine patrol-type operation" on Nov. 3, the 16-page diary of Abu Tariq, a local AQI "emir" south of Balad, describes an organization on the ropes -- with fighters abandoning the al Qaeda cause, vehicles and weapons stashes destroyed by coalition forces, and some AQI members taking up cause with local "awakening" groups who've sided with U.S. forces.
The manpower of the five battalions of AQI fighters in Tariq's area have been decimated by coalition inroads, the document shows. Describing the 4th "al-Ahawal" Battalion of AQI fighters in the region, Tariq writes: "Most of its members are scoundrels, sectarians and non-believers and the worst of them was [name redacted by military officials] and he was the first one to desert his battalion and ran away to Syria then later on came back from Syria and joined the traitors..."
In one battalion, the number of fighters dropped from 200 to ten. In another, the insurgent rolls plunged from 300 to 16, "then two; one of whom was arrested and the second one was injured," Tariq wrote.
"You can see [from the diary] the al Qaeda organization in this area has been hurt badly over the course of the year," said Air Force Col. Donald Bacon, chief of special operations and intelligence information for Multi-National Force - Iraq, during a recent call with military bloggers.
"We don't want to extrapolate that this is about all of al Qaeda ... we don't want to over-promise that all of al Qaeda is this way," Bacon added quickly.
One of the main factors U.S. military officials cite for the rapid decline of AQI membership and the drop in violent operations against coalition forces is the establishment of so-called "concerned local citizens" groups, now called "sons of Iraq" or "awakening" groups. These teams of local fighters with allegiance to tribal elders and regional sheiks man checkpoints throughout many key cities in Iraq, keeping an eye out for potential suicide bombers, IED emplacers and foreign fighter infiltration.
Full story here:
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,161724,00.html
The manpower of the five battalions of AQI fighters in Tariq's area have been decimated by coalition inroads, the document shows. Describing the 4th "al-Ahawal" Battalion of AQI fighters in the region, Tariq writes: "Most of its members are scoundrels, sectarians and non-believers and the worst of them was [name redacted by military officials] and he was the first one to desert his battalion and ran away to Syria then later on came back from Syria and joined the traitors..."
In one battalion, the number of fighters dropped from 200 to ten. In another, the insurgent rolls plunged from 300 to 16, "then two; one of whom was arrested and the second one was injured," Tariq wrote.
"You can see [from the diary] the al Qaeda organization in this area has been hurt badly over the course of the year," said Air Force Col. Donald Bacon, chief of special operations and intelligence information for Multi-National Force - Iraq, during a recent call with military bloggers.
"We don't want to extrapolate that this is about all of al Qaeda ... we don't want to over-promise that all of al Qaeda is this way," Bacon added quickly.
One of the main factors U.S. military officials cite for the rapid decline of AQI membership and the drop in violent operations against coalition forces is the establishment of so-called "concerned local citizens" groups, now called "sons of Iraq" or "awakening" groups. These teams of local fighters with allegiance to tribal elders and regional sheiks man checkpoints throughout many key cities in Iraq, keeping an eye out for potential suicide bombers, IED emplacers and foreign fighter infiltration.
Full story here:
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,161724,00.html
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