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Release # 0412-04-0611
Apr. 9, 2004

Coalition Overpowering Pockets of Resistance in Iraq

WASHINGTON--By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Coalition forces today unilaterally suspended
offensive operations in Fallujah, Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi Governing
Council, officials in Baghdad reported.

This move, they noted, will allow council members to meet with the city
leadership and leaders of anti-coalition forces in an effort to quell the
violence.

The coalition called the suspension at noon Iraq time so Iraqi government-
provided supplies could be delivered to the area and to enable the city's
residents to tend to the wounded and dead, according to a statement issued by
Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, Coalition Provisional Authority administrator.

Bremer stressed that coalition forces retain the right of self-defense during
the suspension and "will remain fully prepared to resume offensive operations
unless significant progress in these discussions occur."

During a Baghdad news conference, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations
director for Combined Joint Task Force 7, echoed Bremer's assertion that
coalition forces retain the right to defend themselves. "If they are fired on,
they will fire back," he said.

Kimmitt told reporters offensive operations in several other "hot spots" within
Iraq are "going well," and that the coalition expects to regain control
relatively quickly of any Iraqi facilities occupied by militia forces loyal to
Shiia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is wanted by Iraqi authorities in connection
with the murder of a rival cleric.

Besides Fallujah, Kimmitt said the only other Iraqi cities with "any measure of
Sadr control" are Najaf and parts of Karbala. The coalition is intentionally
keeping a low profile in both cities as respect for the Arbaeen religious
observance starting today to commemorate the martyrdom of a Shiia religious
leader.

Kimmitt said Sadr militia has been observed in some portions of Karbala, but
that the coalition is taking "a very passive role" to avoid disrupting
religious pilgrims, currently numbered at about 1.2 million.

"That was always the plan for Arbaeen, that coalition forces would take an
outside approach toward the situation so that the vast number of pilgrims ...
could conduct their observances with Iraqi security forces and local
authorities taking the lead," Kimmitt said.

He said coalition forces also are remaining outside and on the edges of Najaf
in a "force protection status" during Arbaeen. "We understand that the Sadr
militia currently are the predominant force inside the city," he said.

In Kut, Task Force Stryker led an assault to regain control of the CPA compound
and three bridges into the town, Kimmitt said. Elements of the 2nd Battalion, 6th
Infantry Regiment, and 2nd Light Armored Cavalry Regiment destroyed the Sadr
bureau in the city and were to continue operations through the night. Kimmitt
said the coalition expects to regain firm control of all government facilities
and Iraqi police stations in the city by April 10.

"We have seen numerous instances in which the people of Al Kut, once they
realize that the Sadr militia is no longer in control, are coming outside their
houses and waving to coalition forces," he said. "We are fairly comfortable
that the town of Al Kut is well on its way to coming back under coalition
control."

Kimmitt outlined the security situation in other areas within Iraq.

The northern area around Mosul is "quite calm" and "quite stable," he said.

The north central area, which includes Tikrit, Kirkuk and Samarra, has
experienced "a slight uptick in the number of attacks," Kimmitt said, likely by
former Saddam Hussein regime elements taking advantage of violence elsewhere in
the country. Kimmitt said the 1st Infantry Division is conducting offensive
operations to control this threat.

In the west, Ramadi is "quite quiet" today, Kimmitt said, after a local sheik
came forward to name 11 insurgents who had been fighting coalition forces. The
coalition captured and maintains custody of all 11 insurgents, he said.

The south-central region of Iraq from Baghdad south, a predominantly Shiite
area where Sadr has been operating, has remained relatively quiet with only
minor disturbances, Kimmitt said. In the Sadr City section of Baghdad, the
coalition remains "in firm control," with Sadr and his followers posing no
threat the Iraqi security forces and coalition forces can't handle, he said.

The southern region, where the Multinational Division Southeast operates, is
generally quiet, Kimmitt said.

Italian troops in the region are continuing offensive operations against Sadr
militia in Nasiriyah, "but the latest reports from the Italian brigade is that
the resistance is minor and manageable," Kimmitt said.

Dan Senor, the Coalition Provisional Authority's senior spokesman, said pockets
of resistance within Iraq should not overshadow tremendous strides made since
the Saddam regime fell exactly one year ago today.

He said the insurgents fear the democratic process in Iraq and "are trying to
accomplish with the barrel of a gun what they could never accomplish at the
ballot box."

"The coalition liberated this country from a totalitarian regime," he said.
"There is lots of progress, but still lots to be done."

Biography:
Ambassador L. Paul Bremer
III [http://www.cpa-iraq.org/bremerbio.html]
<spacer type=vertical size=5>

Related Sites:
Coalition Provisional Authority [http://www.cpa-iraq.org/]
Combined Joint Task Force 7 [http://www.cjtf7.com/]
1st Infantry Division [http://www.1id.army.mil/]
Multinational
Division Southeast [http://www.cjtf7.com/the-coalition/coalition-forces.htm]
<spacer type= vertical size=5>

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