Iraqi police arrested three suspected terrorists, two of whom are believed to be al-Qaida in Iraq leaders, in two March 13 operations, military officials reported.

In Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched two buildings for a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq leader who allegedly provides financial support, explosives and weapons to numerous terrorist cells operating in the region.

The building in which the wanted individual was found also contained a hidden room where the security team discovered several AK-47 assault rifles and cases of ammunition.

After conducting preliminary questioning and examining the evidence collected at the scene, Iraqi forces identified and arrested the wanted man and a suspected criminal associate.

During a second operation in southwestern Baghdad, Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched a building for a suspected mid-level al-Qaida in Iraq leader who is believed to have helped in planning past high-profile vehicle-bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital. Information and evidence gathered during the operation led Iraqi security forces to identify and arrest the wanted man.

Afghan and coalition forces killed a senior Taliban operative, detained numerous suspected insurgents and seized weapons and drugs in recent operations, military officials in Kabul reported.

In the Chak-e Wardak district of Wardak province today, Afghan and international forces captured a suspected Taliban subcommander allegedly responsible for conducting reconnaissance and planning attacks against coalition forces. Two other insurgents also were detained.

In other recent operations:

– An International Security Assistance Force patrol stopped a vehicle yesterday that was driving erratically in the Kandahar district of Kandahar province. When questioned, the driver gave evasive answers, so the patrol searched the vehicle and discovered 140 pounds of hashish. The drugs were turned over to the Afghan National Police.

– Afghan forces with ISAF partners killed Muhammad Yah, a senior Taliban commander in the Lashkar Gar district of Helmand province March 12. He was known to have planned and facilitated roadside-bomb attacks and to have directed suicide-bomb attacks in the area. While he primarily targeted Afghan forces and international partners, officials said, his attacks often killed or injured innocent Afghan civilians.

– A combined Afghan-international force captured a Taliban bomb-attack facilitator yesterday in Logar province. The facilitator is believed to be responsible for placing roadside bombs throughout the province’s Muhammad Aghah district.

– A combined force captured a Taliban subcommander and another militant in Kandahar’s Zharay district March 13. The combined force found bomb-making materials, including a rocket-propelled grenade, an artillery round, empty mortar cans, and rocket and mortar charts. The subcommander has been responsible for acquiring explosives and bomb-making materials and moving militant fighters to various safe houses, officials said.

– An Afghan-international force captured a Haqqani terrorist network commander and two other militants March 13 in Khost province’s Jaji Mayden district. He is believed to be responsible for directing attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The search team found a shotgun, an automatic rifle, a grenade, some armor-piercing rounds, time fuses, blasting caps and a small amount of dynamite. Two other suspected militants also were detained.

– In the Zurmat district of Paktika province March 13, a combined force detained two suspected militants while pursuing a Taliban commander.

– Combined patrols found 11 rocket-propelled grenade warheads, 75 pounds of homemade explosives and bomb-making materials in Helmand’s Nad Ali district March.

– In Helmand’s Nawah-ye-Barakzai district March 13, a combined patrol detained two men after discovering 20 pounds of opium.

– An Afghan-international security force pursuing an al-Qaida commander in a rural area of the Asmar district of Kunar province March 13 killed six militants, all of whom apparently were foreign fighters, officials said. The militants fired on the combined force after the unit had called out for the occupants of a compound to surrender peacefully. A search of the compound revealed several automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and a land mine. A woman reportedly was killed in the cross-fire, and a joint investigation is under way.

– On March 12, Afghan forces killed eight militants and captured a foreign fighter facilitator in the Gulistam district of Farah province. Three of the eight militants killed were identified as foreign fighters. The combined force came under fire upon arriving at the compound targeted by the operation and returned fire, clearing the enemy from the compound. A militant who was wounded was found to be responsible for moving and equipping foreign fighters coming into Afghanistan. A search yielded rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and hand grenades.

– On March 12, a combined security force in the Khost district captured a Haqqani subcommander responsible for buying bomb components and giving them to cell members, recruiting and training militants and conducting attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. Two other insurgents also were detained. The team recovered rifles, a blasting cap and a large amount of cash.

– Also on March 12, a combined force in Kandahar’s Arghandab district captured a Taliban leader responsible for planning attacks against coalition forces. Two other suspected militants also were detained.

– A combined patrol found three weapons caches within 100 yards of each other in the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province March 12. The caches contained three rocket-propelled grenades, a mortar round, two grenades, more than 20 yards of detonation cord and 350 rounds of small-arms ammunition.

– Afghan soldiers operating with ISAF forces in the Garm sir district of Helmand province discovered a significant cache of weapons and drugs March 12. The force found a Pakistani passport, a spool of command wire used for roadside bombs, 38 batteries, three loaded assault-rifle magazines, 27 shotgun shells, a pellet gun, a shotgun, an assault rifle, several rounds of ammunition, and about 400 pounds of opium.

Servicemembers quizzed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates about Afghanistan, the elections in Iraq and the Iran situation during a question-and-answer period here today.

Gates spoke to members of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. The wing has been deployed here since January 2002 in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The unit has a refueling mission, a reconnaissance mission and also provides air command and control for the U.S. Central Command area of operations, according to AFPS’ Jim Garamone.

Not surprisingly, the airmen and soldiers at the base wanted to know how operations in the theater are going.

Gates told the group that the extraordinary turnout in the Iraqi election held March 7, is a good sign for the future. Before the election, the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, told Gates that a turnout of 50 to 55 percent would be good, and a turnout of 55 to 60 percent would be outstanding. “We apparently ended up with 62 percent turnout,” the secretary said. “When you think of where we were three years ago, … the progress there has been extraordinary.”

If the Iraqis can form a government quickly, the secretary said, he sees no reason why the United States could not meet the marks set for the U.S. withdrawal from the country. That would mean all combat units will be out of Iraq by the end of August, and all American forces will be gone by the end of 2011.

The subject shifted to Iran, whose nuclear program disturbs all countries in the region. By coincidence, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinijad visited neighboring Afghanistan at the same time that Gates was in the country. The Iranian leader met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai the day after Gates met with him.

Some Iranian-made weapons and supplies have ended up in the hands of the Taliban, but that is not yet having a negative impact on the U.S. and international efforts in Afghanistan, Gates said.

The secretary joked that he and Ahmedinijad “exchanged a few words through the media yesterday.”

“I talked about Iran playing a double game with Afghanistan – wanting to have a good relationship with the Afghan government, but wanting to make our lives harder and our lives more difficult,” the secretary said.

But so far, he added, the Iranian level of effort in Afghanistan is not a major problem. “The level of their support to the Taliban has, so far as we can tell, been pretty limited,” Gates said. “I was just trying to express the hope that it wouldn’t get any worse than that.”

The conflict there will take time, the secretary said, though commanders in the country told him during his visit earlier this week that the Taliban momentum has been blunted.

“What I’ve tried to point out to folks is that of the 30,000 troops that the president ordered for the surge in Afghanistan, only about 6,000 are in country so far,” he said.

The rest of the troops will be deployed by the end of August, and that will allow the new strategy in the country to be fully implemented. “The civilian capacity that is equally important to our success there is just arriving and getting in to place as well,” the secretary said.

A key element of the new strategy involves obtaining more trainers for the Afghan security forces. U.S., NATO and international partners are working on getting the training teams in place that Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, says he needs, Gates said.

“My view is all the pieces needed to be successful in Afghanistan – including increasing the size of the Afghan national army and police – are just beginning to come together,” he said. “My view is that the signs we have seen so far indicate to me that General McChrystal’s strategy is working, but it’s still a hard fight ahead of us.”

Gates thanked the members of the unit for their efforts. He said they are helping to make a difference in Afghanistan in particular. “You’ve flown thousands of sorties providing support for those in action,” he said. “And I can tell you, I spent a good part of [March 9] in Helmand and Kandahar provinces, and those men and women on the ground know how much they owe you all for the support you’ve given them. You save lives every day.”

Gates asked the servicemembers to thank their families for him.

“You couldn’t do what you do without their support back home and I want you to pass along from me personally that we recognize how much they sacrifice and how important their support for you is,” he said.

The secretary then shook the hand of every member of the audience and handed his commemorative coin to them.

Iraq and Iran were among the key issues on the table when Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with top officials in Saudi Arabia.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Abu Dhabi on Thursday for talks with political and military leaders.

Women Airforce Service Pilots were awarded Congressional Gold Medals Wednesday for their service during WWII. WASPs were the first women to fly U.S. military aircraft.

Lawmakers are questioning the cost and the delays in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates toured an Afghan Army training camp during his recent visit to Afghanistan.

The commander of U.S. Division Center briefs reporters from Baghdad.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will discuss Iran, Afghanistan and military-to-military contacts with Saudi officials here today, according to AFPS’ Jim Garamone.

Gates, who arrived here after a three-day visit to Afghanistan, is scheduled to meet with King Abdallah and Crown Prince Sultan.

The Saudis are worried about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the affect that Iran’s Shiia government can have on the significant Shiia minorities in some of the Gulf states, senior defense officials speaking on background said.

Many of the Gulf states are building up air-defense capabilities in response to Iranian uranium research and continued Iranian missile development. And the threat Iran poses also is causing many of the Gulf States – who don’t necessarily get along – to look for ways to cooperate.
“Secretary Gates has said many times that continued Iranian nuclear development doesn’t make them safe,” Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. The fact that many states in the region are examining ways to share intelligence and radar information and considering other potential forms of cooperation, he added, shows that Gates’ contention is correct.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have had excellent military-to-military relations since World War II. U.S. advisors continue to help in training the Saudi military and National Guard.

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest customers for U.S. defense goods, and officials said they expect that all of these matters and more will be on the table during the meetings.

The Washington Capitals showed their support for America’s armed forces with their seventh annual “Salute to the Military” appreciation night event held yesterday at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., according to AFPS’ Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Elliott Fabrizio.

While the Capitals gained a 5–3 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning, more than 800 service members and their families enjoyed the game courtesy of tickets the Capitals provided free through local military Morale, Welfare and Recreation offices.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Douglas B. Wilson and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli stressed the importance of garnering civilian support for the military and their families during a pre-game reception honoring the military.

“Less than one percent of Americans have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom,” Wilson said. “All Americans need to understand who they are, and that we are all in this together. Military families, the men and women who support our troops are an important part of this country, and we need to give back. Ted Leonsis and the Washington Capitals epitomize that message, and we thank you.”

“Not only does this event salute the troops, but we’re also saluting the military families,” Chiarelli said. “The families are absolutely critical to our troops, and the support of the American people goes a long way.”

The Washington Capitals professional ice hockey team is part of the National Hockey League. Alexander Ovechkin, the team’s star left wing, played on the national hockey team for his native Russia during the recently concluded Winter Olympics in Canada.

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis praised the men and women of the U.S. military.

“This is such a small, minuscule payback for everything that our men and women in the services do for us,” Leonsis said. “The sacrifices our men and women do for us make it possible for us to live the life we are accustomed to as citizens. It’s a great honor for us to be able to give something back for everything the military does for us.”

The Capitals honored the troops with special performances and aired military “shout-outs” throughout the game. They also donated several viewing suites for use by Wounded Warriors from Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

“A lot of us are still going through surgeries and we’ve got many more ahead of us,” said Wounded Warrior Marine Lt. Col. Keith Schuring. “This gives us a night where we can relax and be with our fellow warriors and just enjoy ourselves.”

Service members attending the event expressed appreciation for the Capitals.

“Tonight has been great,” Army Master Sgt. Andrew Berger said. “Since we’ve been here they’ve really taken care of us. The Washington Capitals are awesome. It’s great to be here to show our support to them as they’ve shown their support for us.”