A Bomb ( well six to be accurate) in the Tale of the Torture House in Zambraniyah Iraq

Reuters You Witness news is for members of the public to send in their pics /news to Reuters e.g today there are shots of Lhasa from a traveller etc., . (Note Lord Patel caption wrong. Again. 6 x 500lb bombs = 3,000lbs not 2,000 lbs)

Airpower summary for March 10th

This picture could well be the event reported laconically as ... "In Iraq, an Air Force B-1B Lancer dropped GBU-38s onto an enemy building and conducted a show of force in the vicinity of Baghdad. "........"Furthermore, an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon performed a show of force in the same area. The missions were reported as successful by the JTAC.

Just ready to post this and then up pops this report with the above photograph ... and two more

US Department of Defense news
U.S. Bomber Destroys Al Qaeda in Iraq Jail, Torture Facility

By Tech. Sgt. Joel Langton, USAFSpecial to American Forces Press Service March 11th

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2008 – Three buildings that had served as an al Qaeda detention and torture facility were destroyed yesterday by a U.S. military bomber.

An al Qaeda in Iraq torture compound and prison in northern Zambraniyah, Iraq, is destroyed after being hit with six 500-pound precision-guided bombs dropped from a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber March 10, 2008. Photo by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway, USAF

A B-1B Lancer bomber used six 500-pound, global positioning system-guided bombs to level the compound located in Zambraniyah, a village south of Baghdad, according to officials. “The precise targeting, synchronized employment and focused effects that eliminated these facilities demonstrate the outstanding capability our integrated ground and air team brings to this fight every day,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Gass, commander of 379th Expeditionary Operations Group.

The targeted compound consisted of three main buildings along with several smaller shelters. It was apparent that terrorists had used the facility as a place to hold and torture captives, officials noted, citing a post-attack discovery of handcuffs attached to walls -- several of which were blood-splattered -- and bare wires plugged into nearby electrical outlets.
...

“This (air strike) removes the last remnants of al Qaeda from this area,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Solomon, 6th Squadron, 8th U.S. Cavalry, commander.

Aubid Abdalla was kidnapped and held for 15 days in the now-destroyed al Qaeda prison, but later escaped. He said he witnessed the deaths of a young boy and an old man during his captivity and that it was a new day for the village as he looked into the bomb’s craters. “We all feel good,” Abdalla, a former Iraqi Army intelligence officer, said. “It’s a dark past that is gone.”

JTAC Air Force Senior Airman Joseph Aton said he was glad he played a role in the destruction of the al Qaeda jail and torture facility. “It was great to be part of this,” Aton, a controller who assisted in coordinating the path of the B-1’s precision-guided munitions, said. “You can tell the people were happy to have this place gone, and it was awesome to make a difference for them.”

The mission’s objective was twofold, explained Air Force Lt. Col. John Nichols, 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron director of operations and coordinator of the sortie.

First, to destroy facilities used to illegally detain, falsely convict, and torture innocent Iraqi civilians; second, to bring closure to friends and families of the victims. There is more....

PS : How the house survived with the shiny photgenic handcuff shot hanging is not explained ... not much left standing round Daniel String 1st Class Airman.

Maybe ,we thought ,this picture might also deter folks from torturing.

.... or make these folks think exactly what they are doing after 5 years in Iraq.

“Words can never replace the loss many Iraqi families suffered, but we’re honored to have been part of a mission to help rid Iraq of al Qaeda operatives,” Nichols said.

The successful mission also “strengthens and reminds the local leadership and Iraqi people that we are dedicated to the elimination of al Qaeda in Iraq,” the colonel added. ...

JTAC Air Force Senior Airman Joseph Aton said he was glad he played a role in the destruction of the al Qaeda jail and torture facility. “It was great to be part of this,” Aton, a controller who assisted in coordinating the path of the B-1’s precision-guided munitions, said. “You can tell the people were happy to have this place gone, and it was awesome to make a difference for them.”

Several questions arise ...

1. No dead bodies ?
2. Handcuff pics ? They look really real.
3. How come the Daily Airpower Summary never mentioned this great feat of military derring do ?

Then a little more digging by our archival retrieval staff ;

On the Operation Iraqi Freedom Multin National Force March 7th - 3 days previously we find ;

Soldiers Find, Raid AQI Torture House in Northern Zambraniyah Friday, 07 March 2008 - By Multi-National Division - Center

With some interesting pictures - which bear a striking resemblance to one's taken AFTER the March 10th bombing.

The attached news story is very revealing ..

Members of a ‘Sons of Iraq’ (SoI) group led Coalition forces to an al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) torture house and prison in northern Zambraniyah, March 5.

The patrol was conducted based on intelligence provided by an SoI leader in the area, said Capt. Chris O’Brian, troop commander of Troop C, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, currently attached to 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div.

“The guy wants to clean up the area,” said O’Brian, a native of Herndon, Va. “AQI killed half his family.” The SoI leader, who heads a group of 300 SoI, worked with his men in support of Troop C Soldiers on the patrol.

The patrol began early in the morning as Soldiers cleared houses in an area suspected of harboring insurgents, said O’Brian. There's more ....

O’Brian said they discovered hand cuffs, an electrocution system consisting of bare wires linked to an on / off switch running to handcuffs on a window bar, and hanging hooks used for humans.

Twelve interrogation books written in Arabic were found along with several sets of female clothing. A bloody handprint was also present.

But they didn't take photographs of those.

Now you tell us - why did the bomb the fucking place with 3,000 lbs of HE ? Was that part of the reconstruction effort ? No-one captured, building destroyed and it seems the military forces were led to it by Members of a ‘Sons of Iraq’ (SoI) group.

Doin' a great job.

As ...JTAC Air Force Senior Airman Joseph Aton said, .... he was glad he played a role in the destruction of the al Qaeda jail and torture facility. “It was great to be part of this,” Aton, a controller who assisted in coordinating the path of the B-1’s precision-guided munitions, said. “You can tell the people were happy to have this place gone, and it was awesome to make a difference for them.”

If you really really wanted to destroy the place maybe a few well placed explosive charges would be cheaper, more effective ...but hell, it wouldn't be as much fun to comb and bomb the shit out of the place 3 days later, get the pictures through to Reuters and circulate 2 bogus news stories telling everyone what a great jobs our lads are doing.

UPDATE : 7.00 pm GMT 18-3-08 : Someone points out it is like blowing up the German eagle at the MUnich Olympic stadium - as a result the perps get away and this results (ABC Australia)

Five beheaded in Al Qaeda attack on Iraq village: police Posted Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:22am AEDT

Suspected Al Qaeda militants have attacked a village in Diyala province north of Baghdad and beheaded five members of a local group fighting the jihadist network, police have said.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Najim al-Sumaidaie said the militants raided the village of Benizad, south of the provincial capital Baquba, and attacked a newly created outpost of a local anti-Al Qaeda 'Awakening' group.