Operation Tigers begins 

Approximately 550 Iraqi Army soldiers and U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team attached to the 2nd Marine Division kicked off Operation Tigers (Nimur) this morning in the Ma’Laab District of eastern Ramadi.Operation Tigers is the fourth in a series of disruption operations executed by the Iraqi Army and coalition forces to set the conditions for a successful Dec. 15 election in the Al Anbar capital city of Ar Ramadi. The previous operations which began on Nov. 16 were operations Panthers (Numur), Bruins (Dibbah), and Lions (Asad). Since Nov. 16, actions conducted by the 2nd BCT have resulted in numerous terrorists killed or detained, and netted several weapons caches: surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, numerous rockets, mortar rounds, artillery rounds, hand grenades, landmines, small arms, small-arms ammunition and various improvised explosive device-making equipment. The discovered weapons caches were used by al-Qaeda in Iraq-led insurgents to conduct direct attacks on Iraqi Army, coalition forces and Ramadi citizens and also used to build roadside bombs.Cordon and searches, blocking off known insurgent escape routes, and searching for weapons caches in the targeted areas, are incorporated as part of Operation Tigers.Operation Tigers consists of approximately 150 Iraqi Army soldiers and 400 coalition forces.