Iraqi, U.S. forces make clean sweep of south Baghdad

Courtesy Photo | BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Commando's conduct clearing operations with Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment during Operation Clean Sweep in southern Baghdad Oct. 28-29. More than 350 houses were searched and 40 terror suspects were detained.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

11.17.2005

Courtesy Story

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Spc. Dan Balda
4th Brigade Combat Team PAO

BAGHDAD --Iraqi and U.S. forces detained dozens of terror suspects during searches in south Baghdad as Operation Clean Sweep continued to clear neighborhoods of terrorist activity.

"Operation Clean Sweep was intended to clean out an area that was known to be used as a way for insurgents to come towards Baghdad from the south as well as an area that a lot of (vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices) and IEDs were coming from," said Lt. Col. Everett Knapp, commander of 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment.

In anticipation of the Dec. 15 nationwide elections, the Soldiers of 1st Bn., 184th Inf., as well as Iraqi forces from the 4th Public Order Brigade and 1st Commando Brigade, raided about 350 homes and detained 49 suspected terrorists. Military officials said 10 of the suspects were forwarded to detention facilities.

Some of the 1/184 Soldiers set up the outer cordon of the mission while others shadowed their Iraqi counterparts during the operation in late October.

"The Iraqi Soldiers really took the lead (on this mission)," Knapp said. "They don't need translators; they can tell who the good guys are and who doesn't belong in a certain situation."

During the Oct. 15 Constitutional Referendum vote, clearing the area of possible dangers to the democratic process was one of the reasons the U.S. Soldiers swept through the fields, clearing every building that stood in their path.

"We want the people to see the Iraqi Security Forces protecting them," Knapp said. "This election has nothing to do with us. This whole operation is about making this area safe for the Iraqi people to see their own Soldiers protecting them."

1st Lt. Jim Waters, of C Company, 1/184, said his Soldiers joined Iraqi Commandos during the operation.

"The message we're trying to convey is that the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Security Forces are capable of securing the country," Waters said. "The citizens of Iraq who are in cooperative support of the new government don't have anything to fear from the power of the American military or the power of Iraq's security forces."

Knapp said he looks forward to continuing to work with the ISF in the future, adding, "These guys get better every single day. Their professionalism is outstanding."

• Date Taken: 11.17.2005
• Date Posted: 11.17.2005 12:55
• Story ID: 3760
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ