TALLINN, Sep 19, BNS - ESTPLA-17, the Estonian infantry platoon serving in Iraq, returned to its area of responsibility Friday morning after a 10-day holiday at home.
ESTPLA-17 originally departed for Iraq on July 2. In the course of the two months of service it has conducted more than 30 patrol and search operations, including one together with units of the Iraqi army and police.
The task of the platoon is to look after security and order in villages near the town of Sab al Boor north of Baghdad. The unit operates on nearly a hundred square kilometers.
"Although the security situation in our area of responsibilty is calmer than before, residents still are reckoning on the presence of coalition forces," the commander of ESTPLA-17, Lt. Raul Kadaste, has said.
"Sectarian tensions in our area of responsibility are not as acute as they used to be, but religious leaders wield big influence on residents, and from time to time the locals are reminded of their being Sunnis or Shias," he said.
The base camp for ESTPLA-17, from where most operations are carried out, is the Bassam outpost situated to the southwest of the Taji base.
ESTPLA-17 is part of the 2-14 armored infantry battalion of the 25th Infantry Brigade of the US Multi-National Division Baghdad.
Estonian military have been taking part in the operation Iraqi Freedom since June 2003, having lost two men as a result of explosions of non-standard devices.
A couple of tens of Estonian personnel have sustained injuries.
Tallinn newsroom, +372 610 8832, sise@bns.ee
