21st Stryker Infantry Soldiers Implement Security Zone
As the situation continues to improve inside of Iraq soldiers from Coalition forces are being able to branch out and patrol ever-wider areas. In addition they are able to maintain security in areas that previously were considered Al Qaeda strongholds.
One such area is it area in and around Abu Grab. Soldiers arrived on station in Abu Grab to assume security and operational control for the area. 21st Stryker Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion Company A troops arrived on the scene and immediately took to clearing buildings and establishing a perimeter of operations.
The area of Abu Grab sits between the Anbar Province and Baghdad and has in the past been the site of some of the heaviest fighting of the Iraqi War. Scars and signs of those earlier battles remain, as well as signs of disrepair.
One of the goals of the new security troops in the Abu Ghraib area will be to help locals revitalize their city. Abu Ghraib is an area of about 300,000, and it has faired badly at the hands of insurgents and Al Qaeda terrorists. Now that the terrorists are gone, it is up to Coalition and Iraqi forces to identify what needs to occur as rebuilding starts.
The area surrounding Abu Ghraib is pleasant, it has palm groves and fields, and is outwardly inviting. But the damage and battle scars remain, and it will be a challenge for Iraqi soldiers, Iraqi police and Coalition forces to work cooperatively to help solve some of the pressing problems.
