MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq -- Marines of 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion raided the city of Al-Akashat in search of insurgent activity, March 26.
Information gained from the local citizens enabled the Marines to successfully uncover a number of small weapons caches and gain intelligence of insurgent activity.
"We had received information that there had been insurgents working within the city," said Capt. Ladd Shepard, 2d LAR Battalion's operations officer. "So we searched the town and interviewed the local citizens to gain information."
"When we arrived, we found out that the Iraqi National Guard in control of the city. They told us the insurgents had left a few days earlier," Shepard continued.
The ING's presence in the city allowed the Marines to gather information from the citizens, search for weapons caches and observe the security of the city.
"Going into the town allowed us to assess the security situation," he stated. "We found the ING up and running with complete control of the city."
According to Shepard, they uncovered caches consisting of hand grenades, improvised explosive devices and some disarmed explosives.
The mission also tested the battalion's ability to successfully conduct operations in urban terrain.
"Overall this was a good mission for the Marines in the battalion. The Marines did excellent," Shepard stated. "It is extremely difficult to operate in an urban environment.
"From my perspective I was able to maintain good picture of the overall operation. The Marines conducted themselves as professionals, completing their mission with minimal disruption to the local community."
According to Shepard this mission served another purpose as well.
"Our presence here lets the insurgents know that no matter how big this place is they can't run and hide," he explained. "We will go to the far ends of Iraq to eliminate insurgent activities."