Good News From The War On Terror 6/22
MND-B Soldiers target IED cell members northwest of Baghdad
CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Improvised explosive device (IED) cell members were targeted by Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers during three operations in the northwest region of Baghdad June 22, resulting in the detention of seven suspected insurgents.
In the early morning hours, scouts from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment raided a suspected insurgent location in an isolated farm house north of Saab al Bor, Iraq. All seven suspected insurgents were captured in the house. The cell is believed to be responsible for planting IEDs on Highway 1 and other locations in the Taji area.
In Al Hitaween, a village in Abu Ghraib, Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment conducted an air assault operation to conduct a cordon and search of several homes suspected of housing insurgents.
A resident, questioned at the scene, claimed his home had been taken over by insurgents, but they left when they heard the aircraft. At the home, a small cache was found, including a hand grenade and a pistol.
This operation was the first combat air assault mission performed by 2-5th Cavalry since the Vietnam War.
Operation Sledgehammer uncovers multiple mortars
AL HILLAH, Iraq — Eight individuals were detained during a combined search operation between the Iraqi Army, the Hillah Special Weapons and Tactics Team, and Coalition Forces in Jabella June 22.
The search dubbed Operation Sledgehammer was carried out to disrupt militia influence and violence.
Military transition team Paratroopers from the 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division and Iraqi Security Forces searched the offices of Martyr Sadr and found ten 82mm mortar rounds, ten 102mm mortar rounds, and two improvised explosive devices.
Coalition Forces kill 17 al-Qaeda gunmen near Khalis
BAQOUBA, Iraq – Coalition Forces attack helicopters engaged and killed 17 al-Qaeda gunmen southwest of Khalis, Friday.
Iraqi police were conducting security operations in and around the village when Coalition attack helicopters from the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade and ground forces from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, observed more than 15 armed men attempting to circumvent the IPs and infiltrate the village.
The attack helicopters, armed with missiles, engaged and killed 17 al-Qaeda gunmen and destroyed the vehicle they were using.
‘Arrowhead Ripper’ continues to pressure al-Qaida
BAQOUBA, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces teamed with Task Force Lightning units, Thursday, to clear Baqouba and surrounding areas as Operation Arrowhead Ripper continued.
“We are shoulder-to-shoulder with Iraqi Security Forces in this fight,” said Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, deputy commanding general, operations, and commander of Operation Arrowhead Ripper. “Specifically the 5th Iraqi Army Division led by Maj. Gen. Saleem Kariem Ali Alotbei, along with the provincial director of police, Maj. Gen. Ganim, have provided the Iraqi security forces to the fight.
The weeks ahead are absolutely key in not only holding and retaining the ground that is cleared in partnership with Coalition Forces, but also in building trust and confidence with the citizens of Diyala.”
In support of the operation, attack helicopters from 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Squadron, 82nd Attack Reconnaissance Battalion provided assistance to Iraqi and Coalition ground forces, killing at least 13 al-Qaida operatives and destroying an al-Qaida compound during the second day of the operation.
In a separate engagement, CF Soldiers discovered an empty school complex rigged with explosives in Baqouba, the capital city of Diyala province, Thursday, during Operation Arrowhead Ripper.
Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment discovered the booby-trapped school complex. An investigation of the area determined the school and surrounding buildings had been abandoned.
CF had to destroy the school due to risk to the community. CF were unable to disable the explosives because of instability. Ground forces effectively coordinated a precisions guided munitions strike and successfully destroyed the school-borne IED. There were no civilian injuries or deaths as a result of this action.
As Arrowhead Ripper continued through June 21, at least 51 al-Qaida operatives have been killed, with 20 al-Qaida operatives detained, seven weapons caches discovered, 21 improvised explosive devices destroyed and nine booby-trapped structures destroyed.
MND-B Soldiers detain 18 in raids
CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers conducted three raids in northwestern Baghdad, detaining 18 suspects as well as weapons and equipment June 21.
Soldiers from the 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division conducted three early morning raids, targeting terrorist cells believed responsible for improvised explosive attacks in the region.
Soldiers from Battery C, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery conducted an air assault raid on a residence determined, by intelligence sources, to be an insurgent safe house near the town of Shammar Jarba. Four suspects were detained for questioning, including those suspected to be responsible for IED attacks on Highway 1, as well as, assisting in IED attacks in the Taji area.
Near the village of Al Awad, Scouts from Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment conducted a dismounted raid on a suspected insurgent safe house. Inside the home, the Soldiers detained five suspects, including one suspect believed to be responsible for coordinating car bomb attacks against Coalition Forces in an area west of Taji, Iraq. The troops also seized a high-powered rifle with a scope, a pistol, a rocket-propelled grenade scope and a flare gun.
West of Kem village, Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment conducted a dismounted raid on another suspected safe house. Nine suspects were detained in this operation.
All of the suspects are being detained for further questioning.
Mortar systems and weapons seized in Rashid as clearing continues
BAGHDAD — Multinational Division-Baghdad Soldiers discovered two caches during clearing operations in the eastern portion of the Rashid District of the Iraqi capital June 21.
Troops from Company A, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div., seized a cache consisting of 12 AK-47 assault rifles, 15 AK-47 magazines, 12 60mm mortar rounds, four 82mm mortars, 60 anti-personnel mines, one mortar tube, one PKM machine gun with 150 rounds, 12 motorcycle batteries, switches, wires and an unknown amount of black powder, fuses and rocket-propelled grenade boosters.
Meanwhile, Soldiers of Co. C, 1st Bn., 38th Infantry located another cache nearby which contained 15 RPG rounds.
Coalition explosive ordnance disposal units destroyed both caches.
CF, ISF searches yield torture chamber, bomb-rigged houses in Baqouba
BAQOUBA, Iraq – On day four of Operation Arrowhead Ripper, Task Force Lightning and Iraqi soldiers continued sweeping through Baqouba, Iraq, to root out al-Qaida in Iraq.
CF Soldiers worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the Iraqi soldiers and police officers in and around the city during the operations. Coalition ground forces and air support provided critical assistance in targeting and destroying al-Qaida operatives and their safe havens.
In the Khatoon neighborhood of Baqouba, ISF and CF discovered a building suspected of being used as a torture chamber. Ground forces observed various weapons, including knives and saws, inside the building as well as blood stains throughout the building. After securing the area, the building and its contents were destroyed by an attack helicopter armed with Hellfire missiles.
Also in Khatoon, CF destroyed two houses that contained 45 water heaters filled with homemade explosives, IED making materials and computer equipment. One of the houses also contained several booby trapped freezers.
Iraqi police were conducting security operations in and around the village of Khalis when Coalition attack helicopters from the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade and ground forces from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, observed 15-20 armed men attempting to circumvent the IPs and infiltrate the village.
The attack helicopters, armed with missiles, engaged and killed 17 al-Qaida gunmen and destroyed the vehicle they were using.
Since the beginning of Operation Arrowhead Ripper, at least 55 al-Qaida operatives have been killed, 23 have been detained, 16 weapons caches have been discovered, 28 improvised explosive devices have been destroyed and 12 booby-trapped structures have been destroyed.
