US claims success in Diyala River valley

Baghdad: US forces claimed success on Saturday in establishing their influence and denying Al Qaida fighters control of Iraq's Diyala River valley, one of the main targets of an American offensive over the past several months.

Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Poppas, commander of US forces in the valley north of the town of Baquba, said, "We influence the entire Diyala River valley. 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."

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.

US 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 Qaida fighters had fled into the river valley from Baquba after a US offensive there, and attempted to take control of towns and villages but had failed to do so.

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