![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Al-Qaeda in Iraq was fighting to maintain control of its sanctuary and headquarter areas, while Iraqi Sunnis began to turn against them. When his Green Berets of 10th Special Forces Group arrived in Diyala in March, it was an al-Qaeda safe haven and the most violent province in Iraq. “There’s heavily mined roads, large amounts of al-Qaeda reinforcements within kilometers of each other.” It’s truly the heart of al-Qaeda controlled territory right now,” Jones stated. “We refer to the area as ‘the heart of darkness’. Jones was the commander of a 10th Special Forces Group company. “It’s the worst danger I’ve seen in three tours in Iraq,” Army Major Derek Jones warned this reporter before heading out to embed with each of his Special Forces A-teams, spread across Diyala Province in June 2007. He attempted to move his Iraqi soldiers into the area to relieve pressure off the first Iraqi trucks that were in the firefight.ĭIYALA THEN: “INTO THE HEART OF DARKNESS” We’ve been in firefights before and we’ve always done well,” he added.īut the local Iraqi Security Forces with the A-team immediately started taking casualties.Įngineer Rob Pirelli, driving Team Sergeant Don’s truck, went in. Hell yeah, you know, this is exciting.’ This is what we train for. “When we heard it,” said Captain Jason, “the first thing everybody was thinking was, ‘All right, you know, this is it! We get to get into a little fight here. Gunfire erupted from within the buildings. They did, while he maintained a battlefield overwatch position with his Iraqi commander counterpart. Clearly, something of interest was in that village.Ī-Team Commander Captain Jason instructed his Team Sergeant Don in one truck, and his Chief Warrant Officer Jim in the other truck, to stop those squirters and combat-advise the Iraqis to establish a cordon around the village. Suddenly, “squirters”-people running away from the village and cars leaving at a high rate of speed. Diyala Province, Iraq - Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (A-Team) 072 rolled into the village. ![]()
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