New Kurdish Troops Fly into
Baghdad to Join Security Crackdown
The Associated Press
February 25, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq: An Iraqi
military plane flew some 130 predominantly Kurdish soldiers from northern Iraq
to Baghdad on Sunday as reinforcements for the security crackdown under way in
the capital. The military said it was the first time the Iraqis transported
their own troops by air.
The soldiers — wearing camouflage with machine
guns or rocket-propelled grenade launchers slung over their shoulders — were
greeted by Iraqi commanders with a handshake and a traditional kiss on the cheek
as they filed off the gray C-130 plane.
The army chief of staff, himself a Kurd,
stressed unity in the armed forces, addressing concerns that the Kurdish troops
might resent being called to Baghdad because they feel more loyalty to their
homeland.
"Baghdad is a beautiful city that desperately
needs your help," Gen. Babaker Shawkat Zebari said in Arabic after welcoming the
troops in Kurdish. "If the terrorists are defeated here, all of Iraq will get
back on its feet."
"They want to be part of other Iraqi security
troops to spread security and peace. They are an inseparable part of the Iraqi
troops deployed in Baghdad," Zebari said of the fresh troops.
The batch of troops from the Iraqi 2nd
Division's 1st Infantry Brigade were greeted with fanfare by Zebari and Lt. Gen.
Ali Ghadan, the commander of ground forces, after arriving a hangar at an air
field on the western edge of Baghdad. They all wore the army's tan camouflage
uniform, and many carried belongings in plastic bags.
Hundreds of other reinforcements have arrived
from the north and the south in convoys as part of an Iraqi troop buildup in
Baghdad to accompany a U.S. increase. But the military said it was the first
time the Iraqi air force was responsible for flying in its own troops, who
previously had been transported by the Americans.
"Instead of depending on the friendly forces to
move such units, now the transportation is done by Iraqi planes. This is a
historic event," Ghadan said.
Iraqi and U.S. troops are doing
neighborhood-to-neighborhood search operations to clear Baghdad of Sunni Muslim
insurgents and local militias. Iraqis insist they will take the lead in the
operation and touted Sunday's event as an example of their advancement in
capabilities.
The Iraqi ground forces commander said the
crackdown already has seen some success and he said he was pleased with Iraqi
participation rate so far.
Ghadan said two battalions with more than 900
people each had arrived from the south and two others were coming from the north
with about the same number. He also expressed optimism about the troops'
readiness to deploy in Baghdad, saying 1,800 had entered eastern Baghdad earlier
this week and 1,800 were preparing to fan out in the city next week.
"We are very optimistic with such numbers," he
said. "This is the first time in the history of Iraqi army that we reach such
readiness level. Even during Saddam's time the level was only 50 percent, while
our readiness is 110 percent and this a great achievement."
He said the units would serve for three months,
then be replaced by others. He also promised to strike militants elsewhere once
the capital is secure, although he declined to give a timeframe.
"These units will be replaced by other units.
If security is achieved in Baghdad, then we will move some of the units to
strike the terrorists in other provinces," he said.
The comments came amid signs that militants
have fled Baghdad ahead of the security operation, which began Feb. 14, more
than a month after it was announced, leading to an increase in violence in other
areas.
The troops arriving Sunday boarded white buses
that were to take them to a base for intensive training in urban combat for
three weeks before being deployed in the capital, officials said.
Many of the soldiers were formerly part of
Kurdish militias known as peshmergas that fought Saddam Hussein's regime for
decades, making them experienced fighters but also raising concerns that many
don't speak Arabic and will face unfamiliar territory in the city of 6 million
people.
Capt. Amir Wali, a 29-year-old former peshmerga
who has been integrated into the army, said he felt it was an important mission.
"I was glad to come here," he told reporters
after the ceremony. "We came to defend Baghdad against terrorists."
