The Battle of Iraq: Operation Arrowhead Ripper, Day 1
Both Bill Roggio and Michael Yon have filed reports on the first day's fighting in the Diyala provincial capital of Baqubah. Roggio provides the overview of this and other operations in the belts surrounding Baghdad, while Yon gives the street-level view of the fighting in Baqubah itself. Here's the key quote from his piece:
The heat is intense for the enemy and for us. Soldiers, during any chance, would lay-down during the heat of day, and in complete body armor and helmets, fall asleep in the dirt. I took photos of course. Our guys are tough. The enemy in Baqubah is as good as any in Iraq, and better than most. Thatâs saying a lot. But our guys have been systematically trapping them, and have foiled some big traps set for our guys. I donât want to say much more about that, but our guys are seriously outsmarting them. Big fights are ahead and we will take serious losses probably, but al Qaeda, unless they find a way to escape, are about to be slaughtered. Nobody is dropping leaflets asking them to surrender. Our guys want to kill them, and thatâs the plan.
(Emphasis added.)
Looks like the restrictive rules of engagement have been loosened. Both journalists, and Michael Gordon of the New York Times, report that residents are providing good intelligence on the location of enemy fighters and the IEDs they've planted. And it looks like the brave, brave jihadis are trying to cause civilian casualties by using them as human shields. Their hope, of course, is that we'll kill the civilians and provide anti-American fodder for the international news. Such lovely people.
Good hunting, guys.
LINKS: More at Captain's Quarters and Power Line.
LINKS 2: Read an interview the UK's Times Online conducted with General Petraeus.
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