Good News From The War On Terror 6/29
3 terrorists killed, 26 suspects detained in Coalition raids
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces killed three terrorists and detained 26 suspected terrorists during operations Friday targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and bombing networks.
East of Fallujah, Coalition Forces continued operations to disrupt the al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader network during a raid on several buildings east of Fallujah. As they approached the target, the ground forces saw a man holding a grenade. In response to the hostile threat, Coalition Forces took appropriate self-defense measures and engaged the armed man, killing him.
As the ground forces moved to the next building, they encountered a man wearing a suicide vest. Coalition Forces responded appropriately to the hostile threat and engaged the man in self-defense, killing him. Another man associated with the terrorist in the suicide vest ran outside into a patch of reeds. After the man repeatedly ignored a translator’s instructions to come out, ground forces took appropriate self-defense measures and engaged the man, killing him.
The ground forces detained 16 suspected terrorists on the scene for their alleged ties to a top-level al-Qaeda in Iraq leader who operates in the area.
Also in Anbar province, Coalition Forces raided two buildings northeast of Karmah where they suspected terrorists were staying. The ground forces captured four individuals at the scene, including one man who allegedly has ties to a senior al-Qaeda leader who was killed during a May 1 Coalition operation.
Just south of Baghdad, Coalition Forces raided a building in search of a suspected gatekeeper for a leader in the Baghdad vehicle-borne improvised explosive device network. During a search of the building, the ground forces detained two suspected terrorists and moved to a second building where they found and captured the suspected gatekeeper.
Coalition Forces captured a close associate of the suspected military commander for al-Qaeda forces in the Tarmiyah area during a raid west of the town.
In Mosul, Coalition Forces detained two suspected terrorists while targeting the alleged al-Qaeda emir in Kirkuk, responsible for issuing fatwas.
Clearing Continues: Dragons interdict IEDs, capture Iranian rocket materials
BAGHDAD — Multi-National Division – Baghdad troops, all members of the 4th “Dragons” Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, found a cache of Iranian-made rocket materials, stopped the emplacement of an improvised explosive device and detained numerous suspected terrorists during operations in the Rashid District June 27-28.
On June 27, the “Black Lions” of Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, found a cache of Iranian-made rocket parts in Aamel.
The cache consisted of several empty 107mm cases with the same lot numbers as those seized June 17, one rocket launcher, materials to build more than 50 launchers, 13 60mm mortar rounds, one 81mm mortar, rocket-propelled grenades, a large quantity of homemade and plastic explosives, a bag of shotgun shells, two bags of loose 7.62 rounds, one light anti-tank weapon, three assault rifles, one optical sight and an assortment of initiators and grenades.
Also on June 27, troops from the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade, currently operating in the Rashid District under the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, witnessed a suspicious person digging a hole in an area where IEDs have been previously placed. The troops opened fire. The digger and two other individuals supervising nearby were injured.
The individual digging the hole was a teenager. He was taken to a Coalition medical facility for treatment. All three suspects were detained for further questioning.
Also that day, members of 1st Bn., 18th Inf. Regt., detained four more suspects.
In operations June 28, MND-B troops killed three insurgents, wounding two and detained 10 suspects.
In Risalah, a patrol from 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment “Vanguards” began to take fire from two machine guns. The patrol returned fire, killing both insurgents and confiscating their PKC machine guns.
During that same operation, the Vanguards captured an alleged IED cell member with known connections to Jaish Al-Mahdi leaders.A few hours later, an insurgent was killed and three Iraqis wounded when three teenagers tried to breach a checkpoint on a tractor. When the three were stopped and tried to flee one raised an AK-47 and MND-B troops opened fire killing the gunman. The two others were not targeted, but were hit by stray rounds. A girl was hit by a ricochet round, treated for her injuries at the scene and was released.
Also on June 28, Soldiers of 1st Bn., 38th Infantry detained six suspected terrorists, one of them believed to be a financier of a local terrorist cell.
North Babil’s Police graduates, ready for ERU training
AL HILLA, Iraq — Eight hundred Iraqi Policemen graduated from basic training today.
These 800 policemen were selected to attend the emergency response unit training and will add to the quality and adaptability of the north Babil police force. An ERU is a special Iraqi Police unit, working directly for the commander of the Babil province police, which is able to respond to any situation at a moment’s notice in the northern Babil province area.
The graduates will attend a six-week training course which will cover a variety of skills including weapons training and emergency medical care. The units will be located in Haswah, Bahbahhani, Eskan, Iskandariyah, and Musayyib.
Covering a range of special skills from weapons training, to providing emergency medical care, the ERU will become a much needed and flexible force in North Babil capable of reacting to any situation that may arise.
Troops nab caches, insurgents in three separate east Baghdad operations
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq — Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers recovered three caches and seized five suspected insurgents in three separate incidents in eastern Baghdad June 26.
Solders with the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team found two rocket-propelled grenades, three rocket-propelled grenade motors, one drum of ammunition and one spool of wire in New Baghdad thanks to tip from residents. Two suspects were also detained in the operation.
A second raid in New Baghdad netted 2-16th Infantry Soldiers one pistol, one air rifle and three more insurgent suspects.
A third operation, conducted by Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, uncovered a weapons cache in Baghdad’s Rusafa District. The troops there recovered a cache containing two AK-47 assault rifles, two machine guns, one armor vest and four grenades.
Bomb-making materials, weapons seized from two Rashid District mosques
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers entered two mosques in the Rashid District of the Iraqi capital June 27-28 and uncovered two weapons caches.
Early in the morning June 27, Company A, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, and Iraqi Security Forces entered the Al Mahada Mosque in the Saydiyah portion of the city and found eight AK-47s with 40 magazines and body armor.
On June 28, the same company entered Al-Sadiq Mosque in the same neighborhood and found six AK-47s and one bag of hand grenades buried in the courtyard.
Inside the mosque, they found one PKM machine gun, one PKC machine gun, one drum of PKM ammunition, 22 assault rifle magazines, one expended rocket-propelled grenade booster, seven demolition boosters, 30 feet of detonation cord, one stick of dynamite, two RPG warheads, 10 blocks of TNT, one 122mm mortar round, one sniper scope, three RPG fins, 14 blasting caps, more than 500 loose 7.62mm rounds, six pressure switches, six timers, 12 9-volt batteries, one 6-volt battery and assorted communications devices.
The cache, enough to build numerous roadside bombs, was destroyed by an explosive ordnance disposal unit.
Under Iraqi law, citizens are allowed one assault rifle and one 30-round magazine for protection.
Suspected Secret Cell Terrorist Detained by Coalition Forces
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained one suspected Secret Cell terrorist before dawn on Friday in Sadr City. It is believed that the suspected terrorist has close ties to Iranian terror networks.
No shots were fired when Coalition Forces conducted a precision raid to capture or kill terrorists suspected of facilitating the flow of lethal aide into Iraq. Intelligence reports indicate that the suspected terrorist targeted during the raid is associated with key leaders in the secret cell terrorist network and has ties to Iran. It is also believed that the suspected terrorist is responsible for numerous attacks on Iraqi civilians as well as Iraqi and Coalition Forces in Baghdad. The individual is also suspected of recruiting Iraqis to fill the ranks of Iranian terror groups operating in Iraq.
Iraqi Forces detain suspected terrorists in Northwestern Iraq
BALAD – Iraqi Forces detained 16 suspected terrorists linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq during two vehicle checkpoint operations June 26 in northwestern Iraq.
Iraqi Army Forces detained 12 of the suspected terrorists without incident while manning a vehicle checkpoint in western Ninewa. Iraqi Forces also seized several automatic weapons, four AK-47 rifles, ammunition, two rocket propelled grenades and U.S. and Iraqi currency.
During a second operation, Iraqi Security Forces attempted to stop one vehicle and its occupants who attempted to evade the vehicle interdiction. One of the supporting air assault aircraft gave chase to the vehicle and stopped it. The four suspected al-Qaeda terrorists inside the vehicle were then detained. The ISF also confiscated four AK-47 assault rifles, seven AK-47 magazines and a variety of documentation.
Both operations were aimed at disrupting terrorists’ freedom of movement in northwestern Iraq.
