An Al Buaytha merchant weights out two melons for sale. Al Buaytha shops are now opening back up thanks in part to Coalition Forces and Concerned Local Citizens who have vowed to purge violence from their community.

"A lot of neighbors were getting hurt," Khudair said, describing the final straw of seeing a woman killed by an insurgent bomb.

Khudair volunteered to become a member of the Concerned Local Citizens in the area.

The Concerned Local Citizens is a program in which community members volunteer to stand up against insurgent violence and act as security within their own neighborhoods.

"The Concerned Local Citizens allow us to thicken our presence," said Maj. Steven Lutsky, plans and operations officer, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, out of Fort Stewart, Ga.

A thickened presence was needed in the city, under the protection of the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div., because of its location to the Tigris River. Al Buaytha, bordering the western bank of the river, was a favored area for insurgents to bypass checkpoints set up on the east side of the Tigris River.

Prior to the introduction of the 2nd BCT into the area as part of the surge, the city lacked any Coalition Force presence since the beginning of the Iraq conflict in 2003. Insurgents used the area to channel weapons into Baghdad and to take refuge from Coalition Forces.

Hiding out from Coalition Forces, insurgents transformed the tranquility formerly enjoyed by residents. Shops closed and people began to feel less secure, Khudair said.

Al-Qaeda started pressing the moderate Sunnis of the area to practice a stricter interpretation of Islam, using violence to coerce those who disagreed with them.

Now, the people are standing up with the support of the 1-30th Inf. Regt. Soldiers. Local leaders, like retired Iraqi army Brig. Gen. Mustafa Kamel Hamad Shabib Al-Jabouri, began to work with Coalition Forces, forming the base upon which the Concerned Local Citizens program was built.

The accomplishments of that force are evident in the streets of Al Buaytha.

"We've kicked the bad guys out of the area," Khudair said through an interpreter. "We've secured the area."

On a walkthrough of the area Nov. 3, Lt. Col. Ken Adgie, 1-30th Inf. Regt. commander and Col. Terry Ferrell, 2nd BCT commander, saw the evident signs of progress.

Shops were open for business and children were playing in the streets after school.

"You're doing great things. Stores are starting to open up; people are starting to feel safe," Ferrell said to Adgie as they walked through the town.

These two factors are slowly rebuilding the economy. With stores open and people moving about, money is finally exchanging hands.

One of the shop owners, operating a fruit and vegetable stand near the school, credited the Concerned Local Citizens for facilitating his business. Besides enabling him to get more customers by providing security in the community, he said the Concerned Local Citizens are good customers.

During patrols, they often stop at the vendors, purchasing food, colas or cigarettes to take with them.

Throughout his area, Adgie said that there are about 700 Concerned Local Citizens volunteering to defend their homes.

Lutsky said the Concerned Local Citizens group is serving as a gateway for Iraqi police presence in the area.