Air attacks lead to cease fire in northern Iraq

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  • By Senior Master Sgt. Rick Burnham
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON --  Iraq's regular army may have never measured up to the prestigious Republican Guard in terms of battlefield effectiveness, but it seems they have a leg up when it comes to common sense, according to U.S. Central Command officials.

Following a brief period of bombing and close-air-support missions near Mosul in the north central region of the country, the Iraqi 5th Corps commander signed a cease-fire agreement with a coalition special operations commander, officials said April 11 during the daily press briefing at their forward headquarters in Qatar.

Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, CENTCOM deputy operations officer, told reporters that the Iraqi soldiers essentially agreed to lay down their weapons.

"There had been discussions ongoing for some time, and we were able to bring them to a degree of closure," he said. "Since the cease fire has been signed by this commander, we anticipate that the 5th Corps forces will leave the battlefield, (leave) their equipment and return to their garrisons, or simply proceed with life as civilians out of uniform."

Recent statements by defense officials indicate the Iraqi 5th Corps may have made a wise choice. Enemy ground forces in contact with coalition forces had better keep a close watch on the skies, the officials said.

"As long as it takes, wherever and whenever coalition ground forces are in contact with the enemy, coalition air forces will be there to provide lethal and precise close-air support," they said.

Not all Iraqi forces are heeding the warning, however, as coalition aircraft continued to pound sites west of Baghdad. Among the targets was a building near Ar Ramadi inhabited by Saddam Hussein's half-brother and regime presidential adviser Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti. Officials from Command Forces Air Component Command said the site was hit by six Joint Direct Attack Munitions, and battle damage assessment is ongoing.

Defense officials said the sorties involved in that mission were part of 1,750 planned for the day, pushing the total for Operation Iraqi Freedom to "about 35,000." Of those, about 13,500 were designated as "strike" sorties. Aerial refueling sorties now total roughly 7,200, including about 350 flown April 10. Airlift sorties are up to about 7,000, with an estimated 425 flown April 10.

Coalition aircraft have now dropped nearly 16,000 bombs, 70 percent of which have been precision-guided munitions. Also, about 44 million informational leaflets have been dropped.

Those efforts will continue as long as there is resistance, defense officials said.

"This fight is not over," they said. "There is still strong resistance, lots of hard work to do and lots of danger ahead. The air component will continue (according to) plan, pressing the attack on all fronts until the enemy gives up or until they're all dead."