AF supports Operation Iron Hammer Published Nov. 13, 2003 By John D. Banusiewicz American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- An AC-130 gunship helped destroy a warehouse when Operation Iron Hammer kicked off Nov. 12 with a series of coordinated U.S. strikes against anti-coalition insurgents in Iraq.Iron Hammer is a joint operation to target enemy operating areas, stop the enemy from staging weapons for use against coalition forces and Baghdad citizens, and destroy enemy forces conducting mortar attacks against Baghdad.The gunship and about a dozen Bradley fighting vehicles destroyed a warehouse insurgents had been using as a headquarters for some strikes against coalition forces. A Defense Department-issued statement said the warehouse was "a known meeting, planning, storage and rendezvous point for belligerent elements currently conducting attacks on coalition forces and infrastructure."There were no reports of people in the vicinity of the warehouse at the time of the attack, according to a U.S. Central Command report.The operation’s first salvo came when 1st Armored Division soldiers saw mortar rounds being fired from a van and gave chase, noting stops it made. An AH-64 Apache helicopter followed the van out of the village and attacked it, killing two suspected insurgents and wounding three others. Five others were captured. Soldiers found an 82 mm mortar launch tube at one of the van's stops and are searching the others, CENTCOM officials said.About a half hour later, near Sadia, the gunship and tanks joined in the operation.