Good News From The War On Terror 9/16
Key al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist captured
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces captured a suspected longtime al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist during an operation Sept. 4 in Tarmiyah.
Mu’ayyad ‘Ali Husayn Sulayman al-Bayyati, also known as Abu Wathiq, is believed to have helped bring the al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist group to Tarmiyah. He is allegedly an advisor to senior terrorist leaders and was responsible for conducting executions.
Intelligence reports indicate al-Bayyati is closely associated with a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq leader and conducts executions either by shooting or beheading people at the main intersection in Tarmiyah. Reports also indicate residents of Tarmiyah feared al-Bayyati’s constant threat of violence and knew him as “The Executioner.” Furthermore, detainee reporting indicates that al-Bayyati tortured two 12-year-old boys by burning their hands and beating them, because he believed the boys were spies for Coalition forces.
Al-Bayyati and two other suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists were captured on Sept. 4 during coordinated raids northwest of Tarmiyah. One of the other detainees is linked to an operation Sept. 2 where Coalition forces destroyed 12 tons of explosives. During this raid, Coalition forces found two caches of weapons and explosives. An air strike safely destroyed the bomb-making facility and caches found during this operation, which contained rocket-propelled grenades, explosive materials and fully assembled improvised explosive devices.
Iraqi Special Operations Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain two key extremist militant leaders
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Special Operations Forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisers, detained a extremist militant company commander and a cell member Sept. 15 during an operation in Ad Diwaniyah.
During the operation, enemy fighters initiated an attack on Iraqi and U.S. Forces with an improvised explosive device, small arms and machine gun fire. The forces returned well-aimed and proportional fire to eliminate the threat, killing three enemy fighters and wounding several others.
Intelligence indicates the extremist commander leads more than 20 enemy forces, who are responsible for launching improvised explosive device, explosively formed penetrator and indirect fire attacks against Iraqi and Coalition Forces in the area.
On July 5, the group attacked the Coalition base in Ad Diwaniyah with indirect fires. Further intelligence reports that the group has launched more than 450 rocket and mortar attacks on the base during the past four months.
Reports also indicate this group assaulted the local police station on July 7 of this year, killed two Iraqi police officers and then fired on Coalition forces rushing to aid the police.
In a separate operation Sept. 15 in the Bayaa area of Baghdad, ISOF detained an extremist militant battalion commander. The suspect is linked to extra judicial killings, kidnappings and the forcible removal of Sunni residents from the same area.
Eight terrorists killed, seven suspects detained
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed eight terrorists and detained seven suspected terrorists during operations Sunday targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq's leadership nodes and Baghdad-area operations.
Coalition forces conducted two operations to bolster security in Baghdad and the surrounding belts. West of Tarmiyah, Coalition forces used information from an operation Aug. 31 to target associates of the al-Qaeda in Iraq emir of the northern belts. As the assault force approached the target building, several armed men engaged them with small arms fire. Coalition forces returned fire in self-defense, killing one armed terrorist. Three of the armed men maneuvered into tactical positions in a nearby palm grove, and Coalition forces called in close air support to defend against the enemy elements, killing three more armed terrorists. As they secured the target buildings, one man refused to comply with the interpreter's instructions and remained barricaded in the building. After repeated attempts to convince the suspected terrorist to come out, Coalition forces engaged the man, killing him. The ground forces detained one suspected terrorist and discovered a cache of bomb-making materials, which they safely destroyed with an air strike.
In an operation in the southern belts around Baghdad, Coalition forces targeted al-Qaeda in Iraq in the Arab Jabour area, including leaders replacing those who have been recently captured or killed. When the ground forces approached the target building, an armed man engaged the assault force. Coalition forces, responding in self-defense, killed the armed terrorist. Another armed man attempted to penetrate a Coalition forces security element, and a third attempted to engage the assault force from a nearby building. Coalition forces, responding in self-defense, engaged and killed both armed terrorists. The ground forces detained two suspects and discovered a cache of weapons and bomb-making materials, which they safely destroyed on site.
Based on intelligence from an operation Sep. 15, Coalition forces captured a suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq leader south of Ramadi. Coalition forces also conducted a raid in Mosul targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq operatives who facilitate a foreign terrorist network, and detained three suspected terrorists.
ANAP, Coalition forces defeat insurgent attack in Helmand Province
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Afghan National Auxiliary Police, advised by Coalition forces, defeated an attack by a large group of insurgents during a combat patrol nine kilometers (5.5 miles) north of the Sangin District Center in the Helmand Province this afternoon.
The initial extremist Taliban attack began when 12 fighters engaged the ANAP-led force from three sides with small arms, heavy machine gun, mortars and RPG fire as the patrol neared Shalban Village, Musa Qalah District.
The combined force repelled the attack and forced the insurgents to retreat into a nearby tree line. The extremists Taliban reinforced their positions away from the village with additional fighters throughout the battle. The combined force called in Coalition close air support to destroy the positively identified and exposed insurgents.
The ground force commander estimated that more than 40 insurgents were involved during the failed attack on the combined force.
A dozen enemy fighters were killed in the engagement. No ANAP, Coalition or non-combatants were reported injured or killed during the fighting.
Several suspected militants killed in operation
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Afghan and Coalition forces killed several suspected militants during an operation earlier today in Helmand Province using a combination of small-arms fire and precision munitions.
The precision munitions were employed on locations in Garmsir District where the combined forces suspected Taliban militants were hiding. There was some damage to a building in the area throughout the course of operation.
During the operation, a vehicle with a weapons cache inside it was found and destroyed. The cache consisted of several rockets, numerous AK-47s, a heavy machine gun, multiple boxes of ammunition, rocket propelled grenades and ammunition vests with magazines.
Nine suspected insurgents detained west of Kandahar City
BAGRAM, Afghanistan –Afghan National Security Forces, advised by Coalition forces, detained nine Taliban insurgents during an operation west of Kandahar City, Afghanistan, early this morning.
Credible intelligence led the ANSF and Coalition forces to two compounds in Senjary Village, 14 km (8.7 miles) west of Kandahar City. Intelligence suggested that the compounds contained a high-level-insurgent leader responsible for the deaths of Afghans and Coalition forces during IED attacks.
Sept. 16 airpower summary: Tankers fuel the fleet
