Operation Lightning Hammer disrupts al-Qaeda in Diyala

Operation Lightning Hammer disrupts al-Qaeda in Diyala Print E-mail

Sunday, 26 August 2007

Spc. Samuel Melendez of Bravo Troop, 5th Battalion, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, patrols a marsh outside of Qubah, a small village in Diyala province, on Sunday, Aug. 19. The patrol was part of Operation Lightning Hammer, a maneuver to flush insurgents from the Diyala River Valley. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Patrick Lair, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

Spc. Samuel Melendez of Bravo Troop, 5th Battalion, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, patrols a marsh outside of Qubah, a small village in Diyala province, on Sunday, Aug. 19. The patrol was part of Operation Lightning Hammer, a maneuver to flush insurgents from the Diyala River Valley. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Patrick Lair, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

BAGHDAD — Operation Lightning Hammer concluded Wednesday after a 12-day, large-scale operation to disrupt al-Qaeda and other terrorist elements in the Diyala River Valley, a complex area of villages and palm groves in Iraq’s Diyala province.

The operation, which involved approximately 16,000 Iraqi and Coalition forces clearing approximately 50 villages, was a key element in Multi-National Corps-Iraq’s overall operation, Phantom Strike; and resulted in 26 al-Qaeda members killed, 37 suspected terrorists detained and the discovery of 10 weapons caches.

“The strength and determination of the fighting men and women from the Iraqi and Coalition forces showed great results during Lightning Hammer,” said U.S. Army Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of Coalition forces in Diyala province. “We have continued to diminish their supplies and disable al-Qaeda’s abilities to disrupt the population.”

Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, partnered with members of the 5th Iraqi Army Division, initiated the operation with a late-night air assault into targeted locations on Aug. 13, and conducted an additional three air-assaults during the course of the operation.

Residents of most villages welcomed the security forces, providing tips and intelligence about recent activities in their towns, and were interested in joining the Iraqi Security Forces. Following clearing operations, the Iraqi Army provided medical assistance and humanitarian aid to the local citizens, many of whom said their villages were recently influenced by al-Qaeda.

More importantly, more than 80 tribal leaders and representatives, some of whom had not spoken in over a year, met Aug. 19 to discuss their grievances and swore on the Quran to unite in their fight against terrorists and become one tribe of Diyala.

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