The region north of the city of Miqdadiyah remains al Qaeda in Iraq-controlled territory. Raids against al Qaeda in Iraq occur in the Miqdadiyah region on a daily basis, while al Qaeda continues to launch attacks into Baqubah, the provincial capital of Diyala on an almost daily basis.
The latest Coalition raid in Miqdadiyah occurred on Jan. 3, resulting in seven al Qaeda fighters killed. Coalition special forces, part of Task Force 88, the hunter-killer teams assigned to hunt al Qaeda's networks, "targeted associates of an al Qaeda in Iraq leader allegedly responsible for coordinating and directing a large terrorist group, and carrying out executions in the Diyala River Valley region." Coalition forces called in an airstrike on a safe house, killing two al Qaeda operatives. Five additional al Qaeda terrorists were killed in a follow-on raid.
