FORWARD OPERATING BASE O'RYAN, IRAQ — Soldiers from the Iraqi army's 4th Battalion conducted a coordinated battalion-sized cordon and search mission called Operation "Al Saekah" or "lightning strike," in the city of Abayachi during a recent early morning operation.

They were supported by soldiers from Task Force Konohiki, and troops from Company A, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry from the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

The scale of the operation was significant.

"This was the first time the (Iraqi battalion) operated in the field with three maneuver companies at the same time," said Lt. Col. Steve Hawley, the commander of the 29th Brigade Combat Team's Task Force Konohiki.

Hawley has commanded the task force for about eight months. The mission is to train the soldiers of the Iraqi army's 4th Battalion to provide security in Iraq.

Iraqi soldiers swept into the city at night and cordoned off the western portion of Abayachi. Abayachi is on the Tigris River a few kilometers southeast of LSA Anaconda and has a population of about 15,000.

The homes in this section of the city are clustered mainly along the river and the area is sprinkled with farms. The Iraqi soldiers searched house to house, looking for insurgents, weapons and contraband.

They also collected intelligence on an ambush that had killed two soldiers from their battalion a few weeks before.

"Abayachi is a hub of terrorist activity; we have a lot of problems there," said Sgt. 1st Class Prescott Dela Cruz. A physical-education teacher at Waipahu High School, Dela Cruz leads one of the Konohiki patrols in support of the operation.

"There's a lot of IED (improvised explosive device) activity and lots of small-arms fire" from that city, said task force member Spc. Bradley Hines.

A construction worker from Seattle, Hines served one tour in Iraq with the 81st Brigade Combat Team and volunteered to stay on for a second tour with Konohiki.

During the operation, the Iraqi soldiers confiscated two AK-47 rifles, a Glock pistol and a shotgun, and detained one suspected insurgent. Although the number of illegal weapons seized was not large, the execution of the mission indicated the Iraqi army is capable of planning and executing large-scale unit operations on its own.

"We used to lead them on patrols, but they've been leading their own patrols since June," Hines said. "They have more confidence, conduct thorough searches and follow in-depth preparation procedures before combat missions."

Hawley said, "The mission was very successful. The 4th Battalion achieved tactical surprise, met all of its time lines, integrated coalition forces into the operation, including dog teams (and) air support in the form of Apaches and Raven" unmanned aerial vehicles.