Good News From The War On Terror 1/27-28
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, conducted a two-day combined operation with the Iraqi 3rd Brigade, 1st National Police Division and Concerned Local Citizens in Zelig, Iraq Jan. 20 and 21.
Thirteen insurgent fighters were killed, two enemy trucks destroyed and 14 improvised explosive devices were found during the combined operation, which is part of the country-wide Operation Phantom Phoenix.
Capt. William Clark, the commander of Company A, said Concerned Local Citizens took the lead in the operation. The Wheeling, Ill. native said the majority of IEDs were found in Zelig and the group cleared homes along major routes in and out of the city.
Company A assisted the Concerned Local Citizens in setting up operation checkpoints.
Sixteen IEDs, cache turned in by CLCs
BAGHDAD – Concerned Local Citizens turned in numerous improvised explosive device components and a munitions cache to Multi-National Division-Center Soldiers in Arab Jabour Jan. 25.
The CLCs approached Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Ga., with 16 pressure plate switches and numerous blasting caps. The CLCs then pointed out where the IEDs were found, allowing Coalition Forces to safely eliminate the threat.
The CLCs also turned in a cache of weapons to the Soldiers. The cache consisted of 340 57 mm projectile fuses, three 57 mm projectiles and 500 DSHKA heavy machine gun rounds.
An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the munitions in a controlled detonation.
Anti-Coalition forces operative captured; criminal networks disrupted
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces captured a suspected anti-Coalition forces operative early Monday during operations in the Risalah area of Baghdad.
The targeted individual reportedly aided in Special Groups criminal element attacks on Coalition forces as a reconnaissance operative. The suspected criminal is assessed to be a specialist in intelligence-gathering, computers and forging documents. The wanted individual was also reported to be an associate of Special Groups criminal element leaders involved in attacks on Coalition forces.
Intelligence led ground forces to the target area where they captured the wanted individual without incident.
Coalition forces target al-Qaeda in central Iraq; 18 suspects detained
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces detained 18 suspected terrorists Sunday and today during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda networks operating in central Iraq.
During an operation east of Tikrit near the Hamrin Mountains Sunday, Coalition forces captured an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq associate who serves as an interrogator at a terrorist prison and training camp in the region. The suspected terrorist also reportedly facilitates the purchase of weapons and the movement of fighters in the area. The targeted individual’s brother was killed during a Coalition forces operation Sep. 30 for his involvement in leading a terrorist cell responsible for running illegal checkpoints, emplacing improvised explosive devices, and kidnapping Iraq citizens in the Hamrin mountain region. During the operation, the wanted individual identified himself to the ground force and was subsequently detained, along with 12 suspected terrorists.
In Baqubah early this morning, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be involved in an al-Qaeda in Iraq suicide IED network operating in the Diyala province. Reports indicate the suspected terrorist is associated with the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader killed Jan. 22 for his role in the same network. In addition to the wanted individual, the ground force detained three suspected terrorists on site.
Farther north near Mosul today, Coalition forces detained one suspected terrorist while targeting an alleged associate of an al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader formerly responsible for the networks in northern Iraq.
