U.S., Iraqi Troops Detain Suspects, Find Weapons

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2006 – U.S. and Iraqi soldiers detained four suspected terrorists and found several weapons caches and an improvised explosive device in weekend operations. Soldiers from 8th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, detained four suspected terrorists in western Baghdad at about 10:30 p.m. July 22. The soldiers were investigating a tip on an illegal checkpoint when they located four armed men manning an illegal checkpoint. The suspects did not have permits and were detained. Soldiers found another AK-47, two bolt-action rifles and an Iraqi police protective vest nearby.

Elsewhere, soldiers from Multinational Division Baghdad's 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found three ammunition caches west of Baghdad July 21. A patrol from the battalion's Company B found the first cache, which consisted of 360 7.62 mm rounds of ammunition and three fragmentation hand grenades, around 7:45 a.m.

A patrol from Company A found the second and largest cache of the day around 9:15 a.m. This cache consisted of five 60 mm mortars, 18 grenades, four rocket-propelled grenades, two anti-aircraft weapons, 45 RKG anti-tank grenades, 41 RKG rounds, three 30 mm anti-aircraft weapons, seven AK-47 assault rifles, nine RPG rounds, 93 blocks of C4 explosive, five 120 mm mortar rounds, three crates of 30 mm anti-aircraft rounds, one flame thrower, three rifle scopes, and other miscellaneous ammunition.

Another patrol from Co. B found 250 Dragonov sniper rounds around 1:30 p.m. Iraqi soldiers from 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, yesterday discovered an improvised-explosive device in a rural area northwest of Rashid around 2:50 p.m. The soldiers, who were on patrol, found two mortar rounds wired together with command wire lying on the side of the road. They dismantled the device and removed it