Us Army Brigade

U.S., Afghan forces target mountains

U.S. commanders say the aim is to wipe out a persistent insurgency in the northern part of Watahpur District in Kunar province, long a stronghold for armed factions both local and from nearby Pakistan, preparing the way for a takeover by the Afghanistan National Army.

"We're trying to kill every terrorist in the area," said Maj. Pat Stitch, brigade operations officer for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.

Stitch said the hope is that the Afghan army can "hold what we cleared" and patrol a region that has been dominated by insurgents from both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"The idea is that the ANA should be doing this by themselves," he said, adding that ideally the Afghan National Police would join the ANA in its effort.

U.S. forces were realigned

The offensive operation is the largest for the 3rd Brigade since its deployment to eastern Afghanistan in April. A brigade spokesman, Maj. David Eastburn, said it was at least "five to seven times larger than any previous operation conducted by the brigade."

Taming this volatile area of Kunar is not an easy one, a lesson U.S. forces have learned in recent years in this region. American troops have sustained heavy casualties in Watahpur District and the surrounding area.

A small combat outpost in the restive Korengal Valley , just to the west of Watahpur, was overrun in 2009, leaving eight soldiers dead just weeks before it was scheduled to be closed.

Watahpur is bisected by the Pech River Valley, where in recent months several U.S. military bases and smaller combat outposts were handed over to the Afghan army.

Prior to the handover, a full battalion of American soldiers had a permanent presence in the region. Now there remains one U.S. Army company and an attached platoon.

Unlike the battle in southern Afghanistan, where U.S. and Afghan forces have cleared large areas of Taliban militants over the last 12 months, the insurgency in eastern Afghanistan remains a difficult face-to-face fight.

Insurgents have attacked military bases with mortar and rocket fire and planted narrow mountain roads where U.S. troops patrol by foot and armored vehicles with numerous improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

Mehdi Army Promised Day Brigade claims responsibility for missile ...

“The Promised Day Brigade has carried out from June 21 till June 26 ten mortar and Katyusha attacks against US military bases in Baghdad, Mosul, Diyala, Kirkuk, Basra, Missan, Nassiriya and Samawa while it targeted US convoys with bombs”, read out a statement by the Promised Day Brigade which Alsumarianews obtained a copy of.

“These operations killed and wounded a number of US soldiers”, the statement said vowing to pursue strikes against US Forces so that “the people of Iraq protect their religion and nation”, the statement continued.

The Promised Day Brigade is related to Mehdi’s Army military wing overseen by Sadr Front leader Sayyed Moqtada Al Sadr. The Brigade staged a military parade marking the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein on 10th of Muharram AH.

Sayyed Moqtada Al Sadr threatened on April 9 to resume Mehdi Army resistance if the “occupier” does not withdraw from Iraq. Al Sadr called for an open sit-in and a Shiite-Sunni military resistance to push for the withdrawal of US Forces from Iraq.

Sayyed Moqtada Al Sadr welcomed on June 25 the willingness of some of his supporters to carry out suicide attacks against US Forces.

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Annual reports ....

Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades

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