Photo By Staff Sgt. Zachary Mott | Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Zach Mott
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq is a country dominated by dichotomy. Whether it is rural versus city, war versus peace or prosperity versus suffering, rarely does one thing resemble the other.
Sadr City, despite the estimated 1.5 million people who call it home, illustrates this point on an almost continuous basis. The much publicized wall that went up along Jamilla/Al Quds Road in the southern portion of the city was fiercely contested by special groups members. Each six-foot wide slab of concrete that went down was met with numerous rounds of small arms fire and countless improvised explosive devices.
Now, a much less publicized wall is being erected along the northwestern edge of the city. In a project that began in early August, the 4.5 kilometer wall is being emplaced by soldiers from the Iraqi army's 11th division and has met little resistance thus far.
"We are here emplacing those barriers and we are helping the coalition forces while we're here," said Iraqi Lt. Col. Abdul Allah, the 11th IA Division engineer.
The operation is run at night so as not to disrupt the normally busy street. Each night, barriers are brought in by elements of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
"We bring in roughly 80 barriers a night and they can emplace as many as 100 per night," said Maj. Timothy Beck, brigade engineer for 3rd BCT, 4th Inf. Div. "The Iraqi army is very fast."
Part of what Beck attributes the relatively calm nights emplacing barriers to is the Iraqi army's increased security presence.
"We haven't been able to put forces on the other side of barriers and that's what the IA does," said the North Babylon, N.Y., native.
While coalition forces manned nearby guard points by the barrier-loaded trucks and cranes, elements of the 11th Iraqi army division were conducting disruption patrols to keep criminal elements from stopping the progress at the wall.
The barriers are part of a continued plan to disrupt the flow of special groups members and other criminal elements in and out of the northeastern Baghdad District.
"The idea of emplacing those barriers is to isolate the hot (neighborhoods) from the safe (neighborhoods)," Abdul said.
"This is a joint mission between the IA and MND-Baghdad to help isolate Sadr City from the criminal elements seeking refuge in Sadr City and maneuvering out," Beck said.
When this mission is complete, Beck said there are several other projects planned throughout the Striker Brigade's operational environment.
"We have barrier missions planned throughout the remainder of our deployment," he said. "We still have thousands ordered that have yet to come in."
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.18.2008 02:35 |
| Story ID: | 22597 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 384 |
| Downloads: | 356 |
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