Good News From The War On Terror 12/5
MND-C Soldiers discover cache in haystack (Al Ja’ara)
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, uncovered a weapons cache Dec. 1 in Al Ja’ara, Iraq, while delivering kerosene to local citizens.
While the Soldiers were delivering 15,000 liters of kerosene to the village sheik, they received information regarding the location of a possible weapons cache.
Barwick said Pfc. Mark Hayes, from Louisville, Ky.; Pvt. Phillip Crum, from Miami; Spc. Mishael Francois, from Trinidad and Tobago; and Pfc. Steven Moya, from Redding, Pa., dug through the entire pile of hay and discovered two 75mm rockets, 17 grenades, two mortars, 10 pounds of a stripped propellant and one two-liter bottle of explosive material.
Co. B, 1-15th Inf. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and has been deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom V since March.
Coalition forces capture weapons and foreign terrorist facilitators, 10 detained
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces detained 10 suspected terrorists during operations Wednesday to disrupt al-Qaeda operations in central and northern Iraq.
In Baghdad, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be involved in terrorist media and propaganda operations. The wanted individual is allegedly associated with foreign terrorist facilitation networks operating in the region and weapons facilitators recently detained by Coalition forces during operations Nov. 17 and 18. Additionally, the ground force discovered a large amount of terrorist propaganda materials on site.
Farther north, Coalition forces captured another wanted individual believed to be involved in weapons facilitation and car-bombing attacks in Tikrit. Reports indicate the suspect is associated with other al-Qaeda in Iraq weapons facilitators operating in the southern belt terrorist network.
During an operation in al-Hadid, the ground force detained a wanted individual involved in al-Qaeda in Iraq media and propaganda operations. The suspect is allegedly associated with several al-Qaeda in Iraq members recently detained or killed by Coalition forces, to include the terrorist media cell leader for the Diyala province who was killed during an operation Dec. 4 (See MNF-I Press Release A071204b, “Coalition forces target foreign terrorist facilitators, media cells; two killed, 25 detained,” dated Dec. 4, 2007).
In other operations in Samarra and Mosul, Coalition forces detained seven suspected terrorists while targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq associates involved in improvised explosive device attacks and foreign terrorist facilitation.
Taliban commander killed in precision strike positively identified
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Coalition forces positively identified one of the militants killed in a Dec. 2 precision munitions strike in the Musa Qaleh district of Helmand Province as former Taliban senior commander Mullah Ikhalas.
Mullah Ikhalas was a senior Taliban commander active in the Musa Qaleh district. He is reported to be responsible for the March 5 kidnapping of Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, his interpreter, and his driver. Mastrogiacomo’s interpreter and driver were executed by Taliban insurgents. Reports also indicated Ikhalas was responsible for a number of mortar attacks on coalition bases as well as several IED attacks.
During the course of the Dec. 2 operations, Coalition forces targeted a vehicle in the Musa Qaleh district containing Mullah Ikhalas and three other unidentified militants. A supporting aircraft employed a precision-guided munition, destroying the vehicle and killing the occupants.
Several militants killed in Helmand operation
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Several militants were killed during a Coalition forces operation Tuesday to disrupt foreign fighter and weapons facilitation networks in Helmand Province.
In the Garmsir district of the Helmand Province, Coalition forces targeted an individual believed to be associated with weapons smuggling operations in the province. Reports indicate the individual is associated with a Taliban leader responsible for facilitating the weapons and explosives recovered and destroyed during a Nov. 16 Coalition forces’ operation. Furthermore, the individual is reported to have knowledge of foreign fighter movements throughout the area.
Coalition forces conducted a search of several compounds in the district. While performing a search of one of the compounds, Coalition forces killed several armed militants who posed an imminent threat.
After hostilities ceased, Coalition forces recovered several weapons and explosives, which were removed to prevent their use by extremist forces.
