U.S. soldiers capture major al-Qaida player Posted On: Friday, Mar. 21 2008 04:36 AM By Amanda Kim Stairrett
Killeen Daily Herald

FORT HOOD – After chasing him for three years, U.S. forces captured the No. 4 al-Qaida target Wednesday afternoon.

Maj. Gen. Jeffery W. Hammond, Multinational Division-Baghdad and 4th Infantry Division commander, talked about the incident on Thursday during a videoteleconference from Baghdad, Iraq.

This target is responsible for more than 200 Iraqi deaths and the deaths of American soldiers, Hammond said, and leaders drilled the suspect's description into their soldiers' heads. Multinational Division-Baghdad soldiers were performing a house-to-house search in Baghdad on Wednesday when a young soldier knocked on a door and the target answered the door.

"It's you! You're the guy! You're the guy!" Hammond quoted the soldier as saying.

These al-Qaida operatives think they're invincible, Hammond said, and the No. 4 target was shocked.

Hammond said he would pin medals today on the "kids" who detained the suspect. Who knows how many lives were saved with the capture of this individual, he added.

This deals a blow to al-Qaida, Hammond said, but it is not yet defeated. Instead, it is disrupted. In the last 98 days, 246 al-Qaida operatives have been captured by 4th Infantry and Multinational Division-Baghdad soldiers. Those captured range from senior media leaders to attack coordinators.

"We have flat out gotten after it," Hammond said.

The soldiers will continue to press hard, Hammond said, going on to liken the situation to a basketball game. Forces aren't picking up al-Qaida up at half court anymore, he said; it's a full-court press.

It's been a good 48 hours, and Hammond said he is "very, very positive."

"The fire is certainly in my belly."

Still, incidents happen, whether it's a good or bad day, Hammond said. Operatives can still slip a car bomb in or send in a woman wearing a suicide vest.

"We're trying like hell to be perfect, but we do have a bad day now and then."

Hammond discussed the 4th Infantry's 1st Brigade Combat Team's movement into Iraq. The brigade began leaving Fort Hood in February, and its forces are now arriving in Iraq from Kuwait, Hammond said.

"Multinational Division-Baghdad is turning more and more green of an Ivy shade," he joked.

The brigade, led by Col. Ted Martin, will occupy "critical battlespace" in southern Baghdad, Hammond said. It will take responsibility of the area in about a month from the 1st Infantry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team.

Hammond and Command Sgt. Maj. John Gioia, Multinational Division-Baghdad and 4th Infantry senior noncommissioned officer, also talked about the makeup of the American soldiers in Baghdad.

Hammond said 12,700 soldiers are on their first deployment; 10,000 on their second; 5,000 on their third; and 2,300 are on their fourth or more deployment. The average rank is specialist, Gioia said, and the average age is 22. The average soldier makes about $2,000 per month. Eighty-five percent are male, and 15 percent are female, he added.

Right now, soldiers occupy 100 different locations – joint security stations, combat outposts, etc. – across Baghdad. They "live on the line" for seven days and then go back to forward operating bases to "refit." That includes getting a shower, a hot meal and having some contact with home before going back out, Gioia said.

"We have 12 months to make a difference," Hammond said, adding that the soldiers may never get another opportunity to make such a difference in the lives of so many.

Contact Amanda Kim Stairrett at astair@kdhnews.com or call (254) 501-7547