Al Qaeda in Iraq Duped Into Following Foreigners

al-Mashadani created an imaginary leader to fool Iraqis into following foregners

A captured al Qaeda in Iraq leader has admitted the network’s followers have been duped into following the direction of foreign leaders, not Iraqis, a military spokesman in Baghdad said today.

Coalition forces captured Khalid Abdul Fatah Daud Mahmud al-Mashadani, thought to the most senior Iraqi in the al Qaeda in Iraq network, in Mosul on July 4, Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, said. Bergner said Mashadani is in coalition forces custody and providing “significant insights” into the al Qaeda in Iraq network.

Mashadani, who rose through the al Qaeda network ranks directing media and communications operations, helped create a virtual organization, called the Islamic State of Iraq, on the Web in 2006, Bergner said.


It turns out, Bergner said, that the organization is simply a front for foreign influence into al Qaeda in Iraq. Mashadani partnered with Abu Ayub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born head of al Qaeda in Iraq. The two went as far as creating a fictitious leader, Umar al Baghdadi, as a symbolic political head the ISI, whose role is played by an actor. This allowed the two to work in conjunction with foreign leaders to funnel direction to al Qaeda in Iraq, while its followers believed they were following the directions of Iraqi leaders.


“The rank-and-file Iraqis in (al Qaeda in Iraq) believed they were following the Iraqi al Baghdadi, but all the while they have actually been following the orders of the Egyptian Abu Ayub al Masri,” Bergner said.


“Mashadani has said in his own words that the Islamic State of Iraq should be free of foreign influence, but that is not the case.”

‘Operation Ithaca’ Surprises, Pummels, al Qaeda Forces

American and Iraqi military forces broke up al Qaeda operations in the Diyala River valley during “Operation Ithaca,” conducted July 12, a U.S. military officer said today.

Operation Ithaca targeted Sunni-backed al Qaeda forces in and around the villages of Haimer, Abu Nasim and Jamil, located about 20 kilometers north of Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, said Army Lt. Col. Andrew P. Poppas, commander of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division’s 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, which took part in the anti-insurgent offensive.

The operation was a great success and caught al Qaeda “completely by surprise,” Poppas said, noting U.S. ground troops were inserted into the battle space at multiple landing zones by helicopter.

Meanwhile, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthogs,” Army attack helicopters, and Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters fired on the insurgents from the air, Poppas said. Unmanned aerial vehicles kept an eye on insurgent movements during the battle, he added. Each of the aircraft was assigned “very specific, detailed areas” for engaging the al Qaeda forces, Poppas said. In this way, he noted, the enemy lost the ability to control the battle and was blocked by coalition air or ground troops at every turn.

Twenty-nine al Qaeda operatives were killed and 23 others were captured during the operation. Also, three enemy weapons caches were discovered and a safe house was destroyed.

Additionally, eight Iraqis who’d been held hostage by the insurgents were freed.

Local Iraqis fed up with al Qaeda had delivered hand-written maps and other information about the enemy that were used during pre-operational planning, Poppas said.

“We had some very specific intelligence that was provided to us from the local populace,” Poppas said. Unmanned aerial vehicles and other means were used to confirm the information.

Troops See Progress, Grow Weary of Negative Reports on War

"I see -- unequivocally -- that this surge is making a difference."

Troops on the ground in Iraq are not as much tired of the war as they are of those who are not in the fight saying that no progress has been made, a top commander in the region said today.

The troops there see progress every day, said British Army Lt. Gen. Graeme Lamb, deputy commander of Multinational Force Iraq and senior British representative in Iraq, speaking to Pentagon reporters via satellite.

“They see the water going to people who didn't have it before. They see electricity coming on line. They see stability to the networks. They see all the stuff that no one really portrays,” Lamb said. “While it's so clear to them that we're making progress, it's not reflected by those who are not in the fight, but [who] are sitting back and making judgment.”

Overall, Lamb called the day-to-day work there by coalition forces “hard pounding,” and said that extraordinary things are being accomplished by ordinary people.

“You should be enormously proud of what I see your Marines, your Air Force, your Navy, your Army and the civilians who are in the fight out here, as to what they do, and gladly,” Lamb said.

The British general has served in Iraq since August 2006. This is his second tour to the region. He said, that in the first month of the surge there has been “good progress, steady momentum, hard fighting, [and coalition forces] going places where they haven't been before. I see -- unequivocally -- that this surge is making a difference.”

Targeting the Top of al Qaeda in Iraq’s Leadership

Coalition forces conducted anti-insurgent operations over the past few days in Iraq, killing terrorists and capturing suspects. Here's the rundown -

-- A senior member of an al Qaeda media cell gave himself up to coalition forces during a raid in Mosul. He led coalition forces to the media cell headquarters, where they discovered jihadist propaganda and media materials. Three additional suspects were detained.

-- In Baghdad, coalition forces detained two suspects in a raid on al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and car-bomb cells.

-- One suspect was killed and two detained in a raid southwest of the capital city that targeted close associates of al Qaeda senior leaders.

-- In Ramadi, coalition forces captured two suspected terrorists during a precision raid. One is an alleged associate of a terrorist who facilitates the movement of foreign terrorists into Iraq for suicide operations.

-- Two coordinated raids in Baghdad targeted members of the Baghdad bombing network. Coalition forces detained five suspected terrorists linked to an al Qaeda leader overseeing the bombing network and two more suspected terrorists with ties to an al Qaeda weapons facilitator.

-- Coalition forces detained eight suspected terrorists north of Taji during a raid targeting a direct associate of al Qaeda senior leaders known for using improvised explosive devices.

“We’re targeting the top of al Qaeda in Iraq’s leadership as well as the operatives who conduct attacks that harm innocent Iraqis, and we’re taking them off the streets so the people of Iraq can live without fear of vicious terrorist attacks,” said Maj. Marc Young, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.

Iraqi army, U.S. Special Forces, Capture al Qaeda's "emir of Qayyarah"

Elements of the Iraqi army, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, captured the alleged emir of Qayyarah for the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq yesterday in Qayyarah. The alleged emir directly leads 50 al Qaeda fighters, U.S. officials said.

During the operation, Iraqi army and U.S. Special Forces troops also detained three other individuals at the residence and recovered terrorist propaganda, passports and Korean currency.

Elsewhere, members of the Iraqi army, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, detained three suspected insurgents linked to a rogue group of the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia during a series of operations yesterday in northern Baghdad. One team received small-arms fire but safely detained the primary and secondary suspects at the location without injury. The third suspect was detained at a separate target location.

The primary suspect is believed to be a rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi battalion commander and is suspected of organizing kidnappings and leading death squad killings of Sunni Muslim Iraqi citizens. Intelligence suggests he has been involved in more than half of the detonated improvised explosive devices in two of the northern districts of Baghdad.

The second suspect is an alleged rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi cell commander in northern Baghdad under the primary suspect’s control. The second suspect’s cell is accused of conducting death squad killings of Iraqi civilians and using improvised explosive devices against coalition forces.

Enemy Mortar Team gets Smashed

Soldiers from the 227th Aviation Regiment engage and crush an insurgent mortar team following an attack on two coalition forces bases in Taji, Iraq.

Iranian Rockets Discovered

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle footage of the discovery of 34 rockets and 46 rocket launchers in Iraq which were found to be of Iranian origin.

Raids Nab More al-Qaeda in Iraq

Thirteen more suspected al Qaeda operatives were captured during Iraq operations yesterday and today.

“We’re continuing to conduct operations that target specific links in the al Qaeda in Iraq chain, to ultimately destroy the network,” said Maj. Marc Young, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.

Coalition forces also conducted a precision raid yesterday near Samarra and captured an alleged foreign terrorist facilitator and logistician suspected of supplying al Qaeda cells with operatives and suicide bombers. After U.S. troops cornered the suspect and two of his associates, the three fled into a nearby house. The troops yelled for the house’s occupants to come out, and several women and children exited the building. The ground forces moved them away from danger, then entered the house, where they detained the three suspected terrorists.

Top Terrorist Leader Captured in Mosul

On July 12 Coalition forces in Mosul captured a man they believe to be the most active terrorist cell leader in that area. The man is a suspect in attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces and is believed to facilitate the movement of foreign terrorists. Forces detained five other suspects in the raid.

Other raids there netted one suspect allegedly tied to al Qaeda senior leaders and al Qaeda operative who allegedly is a bomb-making expert.

Forces east of Balad today captured a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq financier. During the raid, coalition forces detained 11 suspects.

Yesterday, Iraqi army and U.S. special operation forces killed a rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi “special group” cell commander yesterday in eastern Baghdad. The high-level leader had a history of extortion, kidnapping and murder.

In other operations:

-- Paratroopers from Strike Force Geronimo detained two suspected al Qaeda insurgents during a raid July 10 northwest of Iskandariyah. Paratroopers of the 25th Infantry Division’s Company A, 3rd Battalion, 509th Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team, conducted Operation Geronimo Strike III, capturing members of al Qaeda wanted in connection with the kidnapping of three U.S. soldiers.

-- Iraqi security forces in western Iraq detained four enemy fighters on July 9, allegedly responsible for running an extortion network and two others suspected of planning attacks against coalition forces.

-- Iraqi police forces detained one suspect in Samarra on July 9 allegedly responsible for running a mortar and sniper network there. Forces seized a large amount of ammunition, four sniper rifles and parts, mortar rounds, and material for making improvised explosive devices.

-- Task Force Geronimo paratroopers captured a cell leader responsible for conducting rocket and improvised explosive device attacks in Iskandariyah on July 9. Paratroopers of the 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 501st Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team, raided the man's house and arrested him without incident.

Surge Operations Pushing Enemy to Brink

Destroying IED as it's Planted

"He's got a big fucking...some kind of shell" - not for long though...

Hunting Down the Enemy

Gun camera footage from Apaches while they engage enemy personnel at rocket launch position - hunting down the enemy.