3rd Brigade Combat Team Leaves for Kuwait;Recidivist Former Detainee Killed in Afghanistan

The US Army's 3rd Brigade Combat Team held a farewell ceremony at Fort Carson,Colorado on Valentine's Day prior to leaving for Kuwait to serve as the US Central Command's Reserve force for the Middle East.More than 4,000 soldiers,along with their M-1 tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles,would be the first large scale combat unit to go in and confront ISIL in Iraq,should an emergency arise.Many of the troops are Iraq War veterans.The US withdrew its forces from Iraq in 2011,but has since sent in 2600 service members to train,advise and assist Iraqi and Kurdish forces in Operation Inherent Resolve,the multi-national anti-ISIL mission.
The Combat Team will also be available for humanitarian assistance and training of other armies in the region.The unit is confident and taking pride in being ready for any contingency.*
Last week,ISIL captured most of the strategic Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi,important for being located only nine miles from al-Asad Air Base,where 320 US Marines are stationed on a training mission.Fighting outside the town continues.Twenty to twenty-five ISIL militants and up to eight suicide bombers attacked the base dressed in Iraqi uniforms.According to the Pentagon,the militants apparently got to the base's outer perimeter and opened up with indirect fire.US helicopters were dispatched to the area,but didn't need to fire a shot.The Iraqi security force handled the militants admirably,killing most of them.
There are multiple entrances to the huge base,and it has been attacked many times over the years.It is pretty hard to penetrate a base of that size.As for indirect fire,rockets are usually fired by militants from a handmade rail,and their mortar fire is inaccurate without a forward observer,said General Mark Hertling,US Army Retired.
In any event,the area they attacked was some distance from the Marines' location. Still,they will probably attempt another assault on the base.*
ISIL is spreading its influence throughout the Middle East and beyond.It is now active to varying degrees in Afghanistan,Pakistan,Algeria,Libya,Yemen,Egypt,Iraq and Syria.Their presence in Afghanistan is nascent at best,said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby last week.It's more aspirational than anything else.
All the same,US forces in Afghanistan conducted a precision strike in Helmand Province,resulting in the death of eight people engaged in hostile activity against US and Afghan forces,including Abdul Rauf Khadim,a former Taliban commander.Khadim was captured by US troops in Afghanistan in 2001.He was imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay facility and,upon his release in 2007,returned to his Taliban militant activities.Then last month,he swore allegiance to ISIL.He joined ISIL no more than a couple weeks ago,RADM Kirby indicated.