More than a dozen sheiks, mayors, and other prominent local Iraqi leaders from the Haditha Triad in western Al Anbar Province, Iraq, met with U.S. Marines April 24, 2006, to discuss future security and reconstruction efforts in this Euphrates Valley region. Six months ago, local Iraqi leaders were targeted by insurgents for cooperating with Coalition Forces, but now, local leaders can meet to discuss issues which impact the progress of their towns and villages, said Cooling. Since their arrival in the Al Anbar Province nearly two months ago, Marines say progress is being made toward the transition from Coalition Forces to Iraqi Security Forces, which local Iraqi leaders say is crucial to stabilizing the area. The Marines have stabilized the security in the city, said a local tribal leader after the meeting. One year ago, a meeting like this would never take place because the criminal acts of insurgents would have prevented it. In just under two months, Marines and Iraqi Security Forces have captured more than 30 insurgents, and have eliminated three insurgent operations cells.
Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps
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