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WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2008 – Iraqi citizens of Babil province yesterday led U.S. soldiers to the seizure of a huge amount of components suitable for the construction of deadly explosively formed penetrator-type bombs, military officials reported. Acting on a tip from local Iraqi citizens, the U.S. soldiers discovered more than 2,500 bomb-making components at three separate locations in an area southeast of Samrah Village in Babil province. Officials believe this discovery will significantly disrupt explosively formed projectiles attacks within central Iraq. U.S. soldiers found the cache after a group of local Iraqi citizens informed them of a suspected cache location...

A man is under arrest in Washington after an improvised explosive device, a rifle and some ammunition were allegedly found in his jeep, Capitol Police said Friday. The man stopped to ask police for directions near the Capitol building at about 11 a.m. EDT Friday, at the intersection of 2nd and Independence Avenue Southeast, according to Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. The officer responding noticed a rifle case on the car seat and inspected the jeep, discovering the IED, rifle and ammunition. A canine unit was enlisted to help.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2008 – Coalition forces in Iraq detained nine suspected terrorists, including two alleged al-Qaida in Iraq leaders, and found an improvised explosive device during operations in Baghdad and the Hamrin Mountains region of Diyala province today, military officials reported. A suspected terrorist leader who reportedly just returned to Iraq after trying to escape arrest during a trip to Syria was captured in Baghdad. The man is believed to be a regional al-Qaida in Iraq leader who orchestrates assassinations of Iraqis and allegedly moves foreign terrorists into Iraq to conduct attacks, officials said. Information from a July 29...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2008 – Coalition forces captured two suspected Kataib Hezbollah associates during operations this morning in Baghdad, military officials reported. Kataib Hezbollah, also known as Hezbollah Brigades, is a terrorist group believed to receive funding, training, logistics and material support from Iran to attack Iraqi and coalition forces using what the military calls “explosively formed penetrators” – roadside bombs designed to pierce armor-hulled vehicles – and other weapons such as rocket-assisted mortars. Acting on intelligence tips, coalition forces targeted a propaganda facilitator for Kataib Hezbollah. It is believed he was involved in editing and posting of attack videos...

A FOX News cameraman helped save the life of an injured Marine in Afghanistan — and was injured himself — when the armored Humvee convoy he was traveling in was struck by a roadside bomb Sunday night in the Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold. Two U.S. Marines were badly injured when the improvised explosive device detonated near their convoy. Though FOX News cameraman Chris Jackson was injured in the blast, he went back to the burning vehicle to rescue one of the Marines. "The cabin was on fire and I jumped out," said Jackson in a report filed immediately following...

A FOX News cameraman helped save the life of an injured Marine in Afghanistan — and was injured himself — when the armored Humvee convoy he was traveling in was struck by a roadside bomb Sunday night in the Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold. Two U.S. Marines were badly injured when the improvised explosive device detonated near their convoy. Though FOX News cameraman Chris Jackson was injured in the blast, he went back to the burning vehicle to rescue one of the Marines. "The cabin was on fire and I jumped out," said Jackson in a report filed immediately following...

BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces detained five suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists in separate operations throughout Iraq July 28-29.  Haditha Special Weapons and Tactics team detained a suspected terrorist on a Haditha district warrant in Barwanah, northwest of Baghdad, July 29. The suspect is said to be a weapons facilitator, recruiter and courier between AQI in Iraq and Syria. Reports indicate he delivers improvised explosive device materials to homes of other AQI members and instructs them in preparing for attacks.   Also on July 29, Iraqi Special Operations Forces detained two suspected terrorists on a Ministry of Justice warrant north of...

The explosions in the Sha'ab neighborhood in the Baghdad district of Adhamiyah, which killed 16 civilians and wounded 29 more, have been "misreported," according to the US military. The explosions in the Mahdi Army stronghold were initially reported in the media as a car bomb attack that targeted a police commander. The attack was held up as the largest bombing in Baghdad since mid-March. But the US military has refuted the reports, saying the explosions were caused by the premature detonation of a Special Groups improvised rocket launching system. The system, which has been described as a flying improvised explosive...

BAQUBAH — With beads of sweat rolling down their neck, Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, labored away alongside members of the Iraqi Army and Sons of Iraq sweeping suspected Al-Qaida forces out of two separate villages south of Baqubah during Operation Cougar Storm recently. The operation was designed to deny Al-Qaida forces a place to stage Improvised Explosive Device attacks along key routes that Coalition forces and Iraqi civilians use, as well as establish an Iraqi Army presence in the area, said 1st Lt. Fernando Pelayo, a platoon leader with 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. The...

Media: Haven't heard much news coming out of Iraq recently? Consider the near silence a clear indication that things are going well there.Reports of good news from Iraq since the U.S. and allied forces took down Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003 have been about as common as Bigfoot sightings. The mainstream media have religiously dwelled on the bad news, but have decided that progress isn't worth the coverage. That's left others to fill in the gaps. One largely unreported bit of positive news is the decline in casualties caused by improvised explosive devices — homemade roadside bombs. According to the...

(CNSNews.com) - Deploying more U.S. troops in Iraq has resulted in a dramatic decline in the number of U.S. troops being killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in that country. IED-caused casualties have dropped 89 percent since the surge went full force last June, according to a Cybercast News Service database of Iraq casualties. IED-caused casualties spiked in the early part of last year as the surge began. In January 2007, the U.S. started deploying an additional 30,000 troops to the country. The surge in forces was completed in mid-June. Click For Larger Image On June 17, Gen. David Petraeus,...

BAGHDAD — U.S. Soldiers captured a suspected militant leader in the New Baghdad security district of eastern Baghdad, June 15. Soldiers from the 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light), captured the suspected criminal leader and detained two others during an operation. BAGHDAD — U.S. Soldiers captured a suspected militant leader in the New Baghdad security district of eastern Baghdad, June 15. Soldiers from the 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light), captured the suspected criminal leader and detained two others during an operation. The highly sought-after criminal leader is believed to...

Two EOD Soldiers inspect a recently assembled Talon Robot. The Talon is but one piece of technology used to mitigate IED and other explosive threats. Photo by Pvt. Alisha Nye, 14th Public Affairs Detachment. COB SPEICHER — Improvised explosive devices (IED) are one of the greatest risks to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Proper handling and disposal of IED is essential for the military, and why all branches work together to safely mitigate this threat.The 184th Ordnance Battalion, Task Force Troy-North, does just that. The battalion contains six explosive ordnance disposal companies, including two Navy and two Air Force...

5/27/2008 - PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Many innocent Afghan lives were saved due to the quick action of a local farmer and the combined efforts of the Panjshir government and the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Panjshir Province, Afghanistan, May 23. A farmer, crossing one of his fields on a Panjshir mountain ridge, found an improvised explosive device and immediately notified someone with a cellular phone who contacted the local chief of police. Within minutes, Commander Zardot, the Anaba Chief of Police and a former Mujahedeen commander, arrived at the scene, assessed the situation and removed the timer from the...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – The battle against improvised explosive devices takes place on the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan every day, but this week coalition members took the fight into a conference room, tucked away on an air base in Southwest Asia. Arranged by the Combined Air and Space Operations Center’s Combined Theater Electronic Warfare Coordination Cell, the conference put IED experts from Iraq and Afghanistan together with William Hughes, director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization’s test board and test board members to exchange information during the two-day conference. “We’re here to see if we’re meeting the warfighters’...

BAGHDAD — Coalition military police forces here will soon be freed up on extra convoy duties that Iraqi security forces will take over. As of 2006 the Government of Iraq has engaged in a $51 million contract to purchase 411 Symphony counter-improved explosive device jammers. After numerous technical and administrative delays fielding is now underway within the Baghdad area of operation. “Along with tier one and two vehicles the system will also be distributed to a number of Iraqi forces as well,” said Coen McFarland, Program Office Liaison. “These forces include the Iraqi Special Operation Forces, Ministry of Defence and...

Shahad Abbas, 11, lost her legs to a roadside bomb blast Staff Sgt. Luis Falcon, 38, was patrolling the streets of Baqouba, north of Baghdad, when he saw Shahad Abbas. The 11-year-old girl was in a large decrepit wheelchair Falcon stopped to talk. He came back the next day and the day after that, then every day for six months, bringing her toys, gauze for her legs, a new wheelchair. Anything she asked for, he would bring. Shahad became his mission. So when she asked for legs, that became his mission, too. On Friday, his dream and hers came...

The U.S. military is reinforcing the sides of its topline mine-resistant vehicles to shore up what could be weak points as troops see a spike in armor-piercing roadside bombings across Iraq, The Associated Press has learned.

BAGHDAD – Alert Iraqi Army soldiers and Iraqi Policemen prevented potential improvised explosive device attacks in the East Mansour district of Baghdad when they stopped a vehicle that was being used by criminal forces to transport IEDs in the area at approximately 1 p.m. May 7.Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 54th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, along with Jamia Iraqi Policemen, conducted a traffic stop after noticing a suspicious individual driving down a road.After stopping the vehicle, the alert soldiers and policemen discovered the deadly weapons in the vehicle. The forces fired at the man and wounded him.Inside the vehicle, the...

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed and captured dozens of enemy fighters and terrorists during operatrions conducted throughout Iraq over the past three days. Coalition forces captured two suspected Iranian-trained insurgents early this morning in the Rashid district in Baghdad. Intelligence information led coalition forces to the location of an individual suspected of smuggling Iranian weapons. He is also suspected of providing information to other insurgent leaders that led to rocket attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces. The terrorist surrendered without incident. Coalition forces conducted a follow-on mission to capture another suspect. There, they detained an...

(CBS/AP) The U.S. military said two American Marines have been killed in a suicide car bombing near Ramadi. A statement says the attacker detonated an explosives-laden car at an entry control point in the vicinity of Ramadi. The military says Tuesday's blast also wounded three other Multi-National Force - West Marines, along with two Iraqi police officers and 24 local residents. The city west of Baghdad is the capital of the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar province. It has been relatively peaceful since local tribal leaders joined forces with the U.S. military against al Qaeda in Iraq. Also Tuesday,...

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2008 – Coalition forces killed a terrorist, detained suspects, and discovered homemade explosives during a series of operations today and yesterday. In a synchronized effort triggered by intelligence from an April 12 operation, coalition forces descended on targets in Salahuddin province to disrupt al-Qaida foreign terrorist leaders. The coordinated operations seized 21 individuals with alleged ties to the al-Qaida foreign terrorist network. As an operation in Sharqat began, one man rushed coalition forces, who responded to the hostile threat, killing the attacker. Coalition forces also found weapons inside the building and uncovered homemade explosives, which were safely...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The son of the new Dutch defense chief was killed Friday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, and the Taliban claimed that they deliberately made him a high-profile victim of their deadly insurgency. Lt. Dennis van Uhm, 23, was one of two Dutch soldiers killed in the explosion 7 miles (12 kilometers) northwest of Camp Holland, the Dutch military base in restive Uruzgan province, spokesman Lt. Gen. Freek Meulman said. Two more soldiers were injured, one critically. Meulman was standing in for Gen. Peter van Uhm, who was installed as defense chief only on Thursday and...

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2008 – Coalition forces detained a suspected militant yesterday during a joint U.S./Afghan security-force operation to disrupt roadside bombings in Afghanistan’s Khowst province, military officials reported. Afghan and coalition security forces found 109 Chinese and Russian 82mm mortars in a cave in northern Afghanistan April 13, 2008. U.S. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The person in custody is linked to several attacks on coalition forces. He was detained during a search of compounds in the province’s Gorbuz District. In other news, 12 suspected militants were detained during two separate operations in Khowst...

The son of the Netherlands’ top military officer was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan early this morning, one day after his father was made head of the Dutch armed forces. Lieutenant Dennis van Uhm, 23, was among two Dutch soldiers killed in the blast seven miles northwest of their military base, Camp Holland, in Uruzgan province, the Dutch defence ministry said. The second dead soldier was not fully identified but was said to be 22 years old. The military insisted today that there was nothing to suggest the commander’s son was deliberately targeted. However there were fears that...

BAGHDAD – During a clearing operation in Mahmudiyah, Iraq, in support of Operation Marne Piledriver, Iraqi Army soldiers from 25th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division uncovered five weapons caches April 15. The caches contained two 155 mm artillery rounds, one oxygen tank rigged as an improvised explosive device, a Katusha rocket launcher, two oxygen tanks, two 82 mm mortar tubes, a 3-foot tube of homemade explosives and multiple pressure strips. Marne Piledriver is taking place in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), area of operations. While the focus of the operation is on capacity building, Iraqi...

Two servicemen from the RAF Regiment were killed in a roadside blast in southern Afghanistan, according to the Ministry of Defence. The pair died during the explosion in Kandahar Province on Sunday 13 April at 1848 local time, the MoD said. Two other service personnel were injured in the incident, which took place during a routine patrol 1.2 miles (2km) west of Kandahar Airfield. Next of kin of all those involved have been notified. The deaths bring the number of UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan to 93.

BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces, advised by U.S. Special Forces, detained two suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq improvised explosive device cell members and one insurgent cell leader in separate operations April 8 and 9.In Ramadi, the Anbar Counterterrorism Directorate conducted an operation to capture members of an AQI IED cell operating out of the Albu Faraj area of Ramadi.The cell is accused of multiple attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces including an IED attack March 25.The group also owned an IED cache found by the Albu Faraj Iraqi Police March 30. Two cell members were detained during the operation.In Mosul,...

TIKRIT, Iraq – While conducting clearing operations, Coalition force Soldiers discovered an improvised explosive device weapons making facility in Diyala Province April 8.The facility was determined to be an imminent threat to Coalition force Soldiers on the ground, and after the area was cleared of any civilians, a U.S. Navy F-18 destroyed the facility with a 500-pound bomb.-30-

March 26, 2008 The FBI is now involved in the theft of a car after it was found in Los Lunas with an explosive device and Iraqi currency inside.FBI agents say that they have ruled out terrorism. The car was reported stolen last week. After the theft, the car’s owner was fueling his motorcycle when he spotted his stolen car. “While he was refueling his motorcycle, low and behold, the vehicle that he had reported stolen that belongs to him happened to pull into the gas station area also,” said Los Lunas Police Captain Charles Nuanes. The car’s owner pulled...

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military says the largest cache of armour-piercing roadside bombs known as explosively formed penetrators has been found south of Baghdad. A statement says Iraqi troops acting on a tip Wednesday found more than 1,000 bomb components in a six-ton truck in a garage in the town of Qassim. American commanders allege that the EFPs come from Iran. Tehran denies the allegations. The military says the cache included more than 1,360 kilograms of explosives, multiple 107 mm rockets and stands along with other munitions. Sunday's statement says the cache has been moved to the nearby city of...

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers killed 25 criminals in eastern Baghdad March 30.Soldiers from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, were traveling in a combat patrol to investigate a possible point of origin for an indirect fire attack when their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. Immediately after the IED attack, Soldiers discovered a second IED in the area and attempted to secure it.While attempting to secure the IED, they were attacked with indirect fire, rocket propelled grenades and small-arms fire from a house in the vicinity of the IED strike....

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2008 – On his way home from working in his family’s field near Kirkuk, Iraq, Rahmey didn’t see the hidden improvised explosive device until it was too late. Soldiers and U.S. soldiers load an Iraqi teenager injured by an improvised explosive device onto a medical evacuation helicopter near Kirkuk, Iraq, March 27, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade.  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Staggering for home after the blast, the 13-year-old Iraqi boy had no way to know that his life would be saved by...

BAGHDAD: Iraqi soldiers uncovered a cache of Iranian-made rockets and armor-piercing roadside bombs Saturday in an apartment building occupied by Shiite militia members south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The cache was found in one apartment and contained 17 bombs known as explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, three Iranian-made 107 mm rockets and an assortment of rifles and Iraqi security force uniforms. Col. Dominic Caraccilo, commander of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, said the rockets were marked with manufacture dates as recent as 2007, and were believed to have been brought into the country from Iran during a...

BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. jets widened the bombing of Basra on Saturday, dropping two precision-guided bombs on a suspected militia stronghold north of the city, British officials said. Maj. Tom Holloway, a British military spokesman, said U.S. jets dropped the two bombs on a militia position in Qarmat Ali shortly before 12:30 p.m. In eastern Baghdad, two American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb about 5:30 p.m. Saturday in a mostly Shiite area that has seen fierce clashes this week. Basra is Iraq's commercial and oil hub, and militant followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been battling...

A U.S. air strike killed five terrorists and wounded several other insurgents from among a group that was attempting to emplace a roadside bomb in the Basra, Iraq, area yesterday, U.S. military officials said. Coalition forces killed the five suspected terrorists and wounded several others after a group of about 10 individuals were spotted conducting suspicious activity in Basra’s Hyyaniyah district. After verifying the individuals were burying what appeared to be a roadside bomb, coalition forces directed an air strike against the enemy force. There were no coalition-force casualties. In other recent operations: -- U.S. helicopter crews destroyed 10 rocket-launching...

BREAKING NEWS MSNBC News Services updated 8 minutes ago BAGHDAD - Four U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Baghdad late Sunday, raising the death toll for American forces since start of the war to 4,000, according to the Pentagon.

The US Marine Corps has placed two follow-on delivery orders worth a total of $715m with BAE Systems for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Under the new contracts, BAE Systems will build and deliver 1,024 Caiman-based Category I vehicles and 447 RG33 Category I and II vehicles (bringing the total to 3,150 Category 1 and 1,927 Category II vehicles respectively). BAE Systems anticipates that the Caiman award, worth $481.8m, will include spares and increased contractor logistic support. The RG33 order, worth $234m, involves the production of three special forces command vehicles, 51 ambulance variants and 393 RG33 Category II...

They called themselves "sand sailors," and they did their job well by reducing IED fatalities at their bases. Monthly U.S. troop deaths from IEDs have dropped since reaching a high of 90 in May to 17 last month, in part because of their efforts, the military said in awarding Bronze Stars to Dye and others.

Clinton, Obama: Own up to feces throwers! The improvised explosive device went off at approximately 3:45 a.m., shattering glass and twisting the building's metal frame. Some will dismiss this as just another attack on our troops in Iraq or Afghanistan. But, the attack didn't take place in the Middle East – the attack against our troops took place here on American soil. The bombing of the military recruiting center located at Times Square in New York City is still under investigation. Police report a hooded individual leaving the scene on a bike just prior to the bomb's explosion. Eight Democratic...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces detained 20 suspected terrorists Saturday and today during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda networks operating in central and northern Iraq. East of Baghdad this morning, Coalition forces captured an alleged improvised explosive device facilitator associated with al-Qaeda in Iraq networks throughout the capital city. The suspect is reportedly involved in a facilitation network supplying explosive materials to the leader of a central Baghdad AQI network, who is a close associate of the overall senior leader for the city’s AQI networks. The suspect is also believed to be a close associate and alleged relative of the leader...

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces, with U.S. Special Forces advising, detained a suspected criminal element leader and two suspected cell members in separate operations Feb. 28. In Baghdad, an Iraqi Special Operations Forces team detained the alleged deputy company commander of a criminal group of approximately 100 people. The suspect and his criminal organization are believed to be responsible for mortar and improvised explosive device attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces. According to intelligence reports, they are also involved in the kidnapping and murder of Iraqi citizens. In Fahama, near Baghdad, soldiers from the 9th Iraqi Army Division detained two...

Two Iraqi Army Soldiers pull multiple weapons and explosives from a hole during a cache find north of Lutifiyah Feb. 19. Photo by Pvt. Christopher McKenna, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs. PATROL BASE LUTIFIYAH — A significant weapon cache was discovered through a group effort between Iraqi Army and U.S. Soldiers Feb. 19, north of Lutifiyah. Led to the site by a tip from a local citizen, members of 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army (IA) division and 4th Platoon, Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2008 – Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 20 suspected terrorists yesterday and today during operations to disrupt al Qaeda operations in central and northern Iraq, military officials reported. West of Taji this morning, coalition forces conducted an operation targeting an individual believed to be an associate of the Baghdad improvised-explosive-device and car-bombing networks. Intelligence indicates he is a terrorist facilitator of materials, vehicles and suicide bombers for multiple terrorist cells throughout the city, officials said. During the operation, coalition forces engaged and killed one armed terrorist and detained two suspects. During an operation in Sharqat,...

BAGHDAD – Soldiers with Multi-National Division – Baghdad captured a suspected key member of an improvised explosive device ring Feb. 19.Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 14th infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, detained the suspect near the Nassir Factory, northwest of Baghdad. The suspect is allegedly an al-Qaeda member and IED facilitator that is part of a terrorist IED ring. He is suspected of multiple IED attacks against Coalition and Iraqi Security forces.  The suspect is being held for further questioning.-30-

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of U.S. Marines have been killed or injured by roadside bombs in Iraq because Marine Corps bureaucrats refused an urgent request in 2005 from battlefield commanders for blast-resistant vehicles, an internal military study concludes. ADVERTISEMENT The study, written by a civilian Marine Corps official and obtained by The Associated Press, accuses the service of "gross mismanagement" that delayed deliveries of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks for more than two years.....cont below

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2008 – Coalition forces killed three terrorists and detained 10 suspects yesterday and today during operations to disrupt al Qaeda networks in northern and central Iraq, military officials said. Southwest of Mahmudiyah today, coalition forces captured an alleged terrorist associated with facilitating weapons, improvised-explosive-device materials, vehicles and suicide bombers for use in al Qaeda in Iraq attacks. The individual is believed to be associated with six other individuals detained by coalition forces within the last month for suspected involvement in the weapons-facilitation network. Reports indicate the suspect is also a close contact of several terrorist leaders, including...

/14/2008 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- One day after a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device explosion devastated residents in the vicinity of the city of Balad, local Iraqi leaders came to the Air Force Theater Hospital here Feb. 11 to visit the attack's most critically wounded. The hospital serves as the region's premiere hub for medical care as the medical staff treats both coalition force members and Iraqi civilians who would likely not survive without the technologically-advanced care provided there. The group of visiting Iraqi leaders consisted of Amer Mrhown Al-obedy, mayor of the city of Balad; Col. Hamad...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2008 – Technology is critical to countering roadside and car bombs and to attacking terrorist networks that emplace them, but a big part of the solution boils down to good old-fashioned training, the new director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization said. Army Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz has built a 36-year career training soldiers, most recently as deputy commander and chief of staff for the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, at Fort Monroe, Va. Since taking the reins of the joint organization tasked with tackling the IED threat, Metz has focused heavily on the...