The Sons of Iraq, the new name for the Concerned Local Citizens movement, have been instrumental in securing regions of Iraq formerly dominated by al Qaeda in Iraq, the Mahdi Army, and other extremist groups. Gordon Alanko is currently embedded with the 5th Squadron of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division in the town of Sayifiyah. The 5/7 Cavalry recently redeployed from Anbar Province to support operations in the southern Arab Jabour region of Baghdad province. The 5/7 Cavalry is working closely with the Sons of Iraq to secure southern Arab Jabour. Gordon recently attended a Sons of Iraq recruiting drive and watched the new recruits assist in building a new patrol base in the region. He will be filing reports from the region over the next week.
Note: Bill Roggio embedded in the Arab Jabour region in September 2007. Background on the region can be found at Arab Jabour: “This is al Qaeda Country”. Multinational Division Central launched Operation Marne Thunderbolt on Jan. 8 in the Arab Jabour region in an effort to drive al Qaeda in Iraq from its safe havens in the region.
