Coalition Forces Bomb Drop Blunts Insurgent Attack

TF MARNE PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER,Iraq – Coalition Forces dropped a 2,000-pound bomb on a house utilized by insurgent forces killing an estimated 23 and blunting an insurgent attack on a National Police checkpoint near Al Dura’iya, June 26.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment spent the previous three days conducting combined combat operations with the 1st Battalion, 1st National Police Brigade clearing the area of suspected Sunni insurgents. Policemen assumed control of the newly established checkpoint at the conclusion of the threeday operation.

Six NP were killed and five were wounded as a result of the insurgent attack. “When insurgents mass forces, we will not hesitate in applying the force necessary to kill them and properly support our National Police partners,” said Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., commander of 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team. “We perform a lot of different tasks here in Iraq. We are assisting the local government and providing aid to those in need. When insurgents choose to fight, however, we will do what we are trained to do. We are trained to close-with and destroy our enemies and the enemies of our partners.” Reports came into the brigade headquarters of a platoon-size element engaging the policemen at the checkpoint. After attacking the checkpoint, the insurgents entered an adjacent mosque and began firing on the checkpoint from the mosque rooftop.

Coalition Forces maneuvered attack aviation assets to the checkpoint. Helicopters identified and engaged the insurgent forces, which fired on the U.S. Army helicopters. Two OH-58D helicopters responded by engaging about 30 insurgents with .50 caliber rounds and rockets. As the action persisted, CF escalated its response. The brigade headquarters coordinated for close-air support from the British Royal Air Force. By coordinating ground forces, aerial observation assets and RAF aircraft, CF identified insurgents moving from the checkpoint to a nearby
house.

An RAF GR-4 Tornado dropped a 2,000-pound Enhanced Pave Way II bomb on the nearby house as insurgents moved in and out of the building. Officers from the 3rd HBCT estimate that a minimum of six insurgents were killed by the blast. No additional buildings were damaged and no civilian casualties have been reported.

The 1-15th Inf. is a part of 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, which is currently conducting operations in support of the Multi-National Division-Center’s Operation Marne Torch. Coalition Forces’ objective in Marne Torch is to clear insurgent sanctuaries southeast of Baghdad. Leaders emphasize that it is an operation that is only now being conducted due to the arrival of the fifth and final surge brigade, the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The 3rd HBCT conducted Operation Hammer Algiers in support of Operation Marne Torch over the course of three days ending on June 25.

“Before our arrival, there was only one company operating in this area at a time,” said Grigsby. “Now with the 2nd Brigade across the river from us, we can project an entire battalion into previous insurgent sanctuaries and still maintain security in our area of operations.”