By Sgt. Patrick Lair
115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

KHAN BANI SA’AD — A year since insurgents evicted them from their homes, more than 100 families are set to return to the neighborhood of Al-Askari, with funds supplied by the Iraqi federal government.

Thanks to a recent clearing operation in the embattled suburb of Khan Bani Sa’ad, about 10 miles north of Baghdad, insurgents and buried explosives have been removed from the streets, Iraqi security checkpoints established along the main roads and several thousand pounds of humanitarian aid have been delivered to local residents.

It was the first time Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) planned, lead and executed their own mission in the area, with only logistical and secondary support from the U.S. Army’s 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

“The mission was a huge success,” said Col. Karim Wahid Salman Al Ubaidi, Iraqi Army commander in Khan Bani Sa’ad. “Everything went according to plan and we did not have any shortages of supplies.”

The Americans positioned their Stryker vehicles around the neighborhood to provide blocking positions as the ISF entered the area on foot.

“The goal was to clear the entire area without one American setting foot inside,” said Capt. Jason Rostenstrauch of 2nd Squadron. “We were helping the ISF clear a very bad part of town and return it to the people.”

Around 150 Iraqi Soldiers and 200 Iraqi Policemen combed the village, searching for insurgents and weapons caches. While no insurgents were found, more than 50 buried improvised explosive devices (IED’s) were detonated by Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal teams and a cache of 37 mortars was found and destroyed.

After the neighborhood was deemed safe, Iraqi Soldiers and Policemen fenced off areas of the main roads, which will become security checkpoints.

“This is the first time in probably six months that anybody’s been able to drive through here because of IED’s and sniper threats,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Karns.

Since insurgents took over the neighborhood around one year ago, they used it to launch attacks on the marketplace and surrounding neighborhoods of Khan Bani Sa’ad.

According to Col. Al Ubaidi, insurgents cut holes in the walls between homes so they could move quickly between houses without being seen, taking sniper shots into a nearby marketplace and traffic circle.

They attacked the Iraqi Army station, located on the edge of Al-Askari, more than 20 times in attempts to drive the ISF away from its stronghold, he said.

During one instance, the insurgents had Iraqi Soldiers trapped on the second floor of the station and were attempting to wire the ground floor with explosives. Two Soldiers scaled a drainage pipe down to the ground, he said, reentering the premises and thwarting the attack.

During another attack, insurgents blew one wall off the station with rocket fire. The wall was rebuilt by Iraqi Soldiers, who refused to abandon their post.

“The courage of these Soldiers was a great factor in protecting this site,” he said.

The neighborhood is important to the terrorists because it acts as a kind of buffer between Sunni populations to the north and Shia populations to the south, said a U.S. Army military intelligence analyst, who cannot make his name public.

The Sunni neighborhood to the north, Al-Rasool, had long been a stronghold of the terrorists, he said, and they wanted to control Al-Askari to create a buffer between themselves and security forces.

After the neighborhood was cleared, Iraqi Soldiers handed out cases of bottled water, sacks of flour, children’s backpacks, cooking oil and other items to hundreds of local residents.

The day after the food drop, American Soldiers were shocked to see children running the streets of Al-Askari, playing soccer.

“That really threw me for a loop,” Karns said. “For the longest time, that area was a no- man’s land. You didn’t see a soul down there.”

The Iraqi federal government is now paying families anywhere from 4 million to 10 million Dinars, or $4,000 to $10,000, to assist them with resettling the area.

“Our plan is to bring back the families of Al-Askari, both Sunni and Shia, to live in harmony and peace,” Col. Al-Ubaidi said. “Our short-term goal is to assist the families with food rations and assist the municipal government in cleaning the streets and reinstating water and electrical services.”

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