Aqur Quf Secured By U.S. Forces And Iraqi Police
The town of Aqur Quf has seen a lot of violence in the past, and it was recently reclaimed by a joint operation of U.S. Forces and Iraqi Police and Military.
“There was so much violence before we came to the area,” said Captain Nelson. Nelson is the
Commander of Company D, 1st Cavalry Division. “We have found a huge amount of IED, weapons, and explosives and we are proud to have destroyed and eliminated them,” said Captain Nelson.
A large drop in the amount of sectarian violence has also occurred. Al-Qaida has been pushed back, and the whole area is coming alive again to a level not seen for decades, before the Saddam era.
“This area has traditionally been the most dangerous of neighborhoods, we have different sectors and two different Iraqi tribes,” said Iraqi Police Commander Major Jasem Muhammed.
“We had both Shias and Sunnis, and there was a lot of conflict,” said Muhammed.
Coalition forces were slow to win trust, but gradually trust between the locals and U.S. Forces has become the word of the day. Now, when on patrol Coalition Forces encounter smiles and waves, instead of suspicious looks. “Our Citizens and tribal sheiks have grown to trust the soldiers, and now the soldiers are learning to trust our people too,” said Muhammed.
The change in the area is markedly better. Coalition forces have finally been able to show local Iraqi’s that there is nothing to fear, and that rebuilding and re-growth are the things that are being focused on now that the danger of attacks is reduced.
