U.S. and Iraqi Forces Capture 16 Al Qaeda in Diyala Province

This is a very brief report here from Aswat Aliraq but oh so important - 16 al Qaeda jihadists were captured in Diyala. Here's the full article for you:

16 al-Qaeda gunmen detained in Diala

Baaquba, Jun 26, (VOI)- Joint Iraqi-U.S. forces on Thursday arrested 16 al-Qaeda gunmen, including four wanted men, during a military operation in northeast of Baaquba, a security source said."A joint force of Iraqi and U.S. personnel waged a military operation targeting al-Qaeda in Blour village in Muqdadiya, northeast of Baaquba," the source, who wished to be unnamed, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq (VOI)."16 al-Qaeda gunmen, including four wanted men, were arrested in the operation," he added.Baaquba, the capital of Diala, is 57 km northeast of Baghdad.

While the capture of 16 al Qaeda in Iraq jihadists is significant in its own right, the key to this is the intel that we will get out of these prisoners. Diyala province remains one of the strongest holds of al Qaeda - some might say it is their last stand so any intelligence that comes out of these captives will be worth its weight in gold.

There has been a significant spike in successful al Qaeda attacks recently and this operation shows the continued determination of U.S. and Iraqi forces. I have argued against some of the commentary that al Qaeda in Iraq is all but finished - that would be like saying the Taliban were destroyed when the U.S. and Coalition forces kicked them out of Afghanistan - these enemies are more resilient than that and quite frankly, with the fact that al Qaeda in Iraq is still successful in recruiting Iraqi women as suicide bombers, the threat will continue for a long, long time.