Al Qaeda losses Diyala River valley

Reuters:

U.S. forces claimed success on Saturday in establishing their influence and denying al Qaeda fighters control of Iraq's Diyala River valley, one of the main targets of an American offensive over the past several months.

"We influence the entire Diyala River valley," Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Poppas, commander of U.S. forces in the valley north of the town of Baquba, told journalists in a video conference.

"We have forces throughout the Diyala valley in key critical nodes. We cross any line of communications, deny the enemy any freedom of movement. Everything they do is watched," he said.

The Diyala River, which joins the Tigris near Baghdad, is one of the three main fertile areas of northern and western Iraq, alongside the Euphrates and the Tigris itself.

U.S. forces have focused on the religiously mixed Diyala province following a crackdown in Baghdad that preceded a larger push in areas around the capital.

Poppas said al Qaeda fighters had fled into the river valley from Baquba after a U.S. offensive there, and attempted to take control of towns and villages but had failed to do so.

"We have found the enemy. We fix him by isolating him and then we have the ability to destroy him," he said.

...

Al Qaeda has run out of places to run to in Iraq. Their last remaining hope is Democrats in Congress. With the defeat of most of al Qaeda's forces, expect to see a new focus in the Shia militias, particularly what remains of Sadr's militia since he fled to Iraq. I expect to also see a greater focus on Iran's rat lines into Iraq. It would not surprise me if the purpose of Maliki's visit to Tehran was to warn them of what was coming if they did not stop their infiltration into Iraq.