For Immediate Release
October 31, 2003

Global Message

Coalition forces continue to take aggressive action against terrorists and other threats in Iraq. The U.S. and its Coalition partners have conducted hundreds of raids, seizing caches of enemy weapons and massive amounts of ammunition.

The Coalition is also conducting aggressive patrols with Iraqi police, and continues to train the Iraqi people to defend critical infrastructure, borders and public facilities in Iraq.

Approximately 130,000 U.S. service members and more than 24,000 Coalition troops are serving in Iraq.

More than 85,500 Iraqis are providing security for their country, making Iraqis the single largest member of the Coalition after the United States.

By January 2004, the U.S. plans to have trained and deployed 15,000 members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and 20,000 members of the Facility Protection Service. The Coalition also has a goal of training 27 battalions for the new Iraqi army in the next year.

Since September 10, the Army's 4th Infantry Division has been conducting Operation Ivy Focus, a series of aggressive raids to maintain pressure on enemy forces and counter the threat of attacks from mortars and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). These operations have resulted in the capture of 123 former regime members, 43 IED makers, and six financiers.

In Baghdad, Coalition forces recently conducted three simultaneous raids against individuals suspected of placing IEDs with the intent to attack Coalition forces. Eight people were detained, along with six AK-47s, numerous RPG rounds, grenades and 1.3 million in Iraqi currency.