Operation Saber Guardian was a joint operation between 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army soldiers, local concerned citizens, and 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. The operation, targeted at

al-Qaida Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countri ...

leadership near the town of Sherween,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, resulted in 20

terrorists killed, 20 detained, and two weapons caches and 12

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

s discovered.

Background

In mid-October 2006, al-Qaeda announced the creation of

Islamic state of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ar, دولة العراق الإسلامية '), commonly referred to as al-Qaeda in Iraq ( ar, القاعدة في العراق '), is a militant Salafist jihadist group that aimed to establish an Islamic sta ...

(ISI),Urban, Mark, ''Task Force Black: The Explosive True Story of the Secret Special Forces War in Iraq '', St. Martin's Griffin , 2012 ,p.183 replacing the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) and its

al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI; ar, القاعدة في العراق, al-Qā'idah fī al-ʿIrāq) or Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia ( ar, القاعدة في بلاد الرافدين, al-Qā'idah fī Bilād ar-Rāfidayn), officially known as ''Tanzim Qaidat a ...

(AQI). The operation began early Tuesday morning with close air support engaging three river crossings and one bridge with eight 2,000 pound bombs and 14-500 pound bombs. The locations are used by al-Qaida to conduct their attacks and were engaged to prevent their escape. "This operation was very important for the people of Sherween because they were able to find a very big hideout for the terrorists," said Staff Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem, commander of

Iraqi Security Forces The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) is a term used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to describe law enforcement and military forces of the federal government of the Republic of Iraq. During the Iraq War, these entities received trainin ...

in Diyala province. "It was a very big surprise for the terrorists and the people that support them." The people of Sherween played a vital role in this operation as they fought side by side the ISF to help them capture and kill known

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. Members of the IA also cleared a local

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, a suspected terrorist haven, and identified mortar tubes, a mortar cache, small-arms munitions, a sniper rifle and machine guns. The other weapons cache included small-arms munitions and IED-making materials. "The political impact will strengthen the local population's confidence in the IA and the local government," said Maj. John Woodward, 6-9 ARS executive officer. "It will also facilitate

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Resistance fighting in the

Muqdadiyah Miqdadiyah ( ar, المقدادية; ku, Şareban, شاره‌بان) is a city in the Diyala Governorate of Iraq. Its population is a mix of Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds. The city is located about 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Baghdad and 30 ...

area as the people have grown tired of the destruction al-Qaida offers." "Such an operation will have a very big impact on the future of Diyala," said Kareem. "This will serve as lessons for the terrorists and their supporters. "Now they will start thinking there is no safe haven," Kareem continued. "The ISF and CF will follow them wherever they go."

References

Operation Phantom Thunder Diyala Governorate in the Iraq War July 2007 events in Iraq {{US-mil-operation-stub