Operation Shank concludes 

Iraqi Army and coalition forces wrapped up Operation Harba (Shank) in central and southern Ramadi today. The operation was the fifth in a series of operations by the Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces conducting combined clearing operations to disrupt the insurgency and set the conditions for a successful Dec. 15 election in the provincial capital of Al Anbar.The operation primarily involved targeted raids conducted by Iraqi Army soldiers and U.S. Forces against insurgent safe houses in the area. The raids resulted in the detention of four suspected members of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) who were held for questioning. Approximately 200 Iraqi Army soldiers from 1st Brigade, 7th Division and 300 Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team took part in Operation Shank. Due to disruption operations in and around Ramadi and throughout the province, attacks by al-Qaeda in Iraq-led insurgent have decreased in Ramadi.