Iraqi, U.S. Forces Foil Attack, Capture Terrorists, Disarm Explosives

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2006 – In separate operations this week throughout Iraq, Iraqi and U.S. forces stopped a terrorist attack against a police station, captured five suspected terrorists, and disarmed seven improvised explosive devices, U.S. military officials reported. Iraqi police and Task Force Band of Brothers soldiers thwarted a terrorist attack against a Mosul police station yesterday.

The attack began when a terrorist dressed as a police officer approached the gate to the police station and detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and wounding six police officers. Immediately following the explosion, two other masked terrorists attempted to attack the station with small-arms fire. Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, quickly identified and engaged the gunmen, killing both. The wounded police officers were transported to a nearby coalition medical facility.

Elsewhere, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, detained five suspected terrorists after being attacked by small-arms fire at about 11 a.m. Aug. 22 in the neighborhood of Saab Al Bour, just north of Baghdad. The soldiers also confiscated three AK-47s, a PKC with a sniper scope, and ammunition. The detainees are being held for questioning.

In a series of Aug. 21 operations, Iraqi army and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered and destroyed seven improvised explosive devices in and around Baghdad. Iraqi army soldiers found and disarmed an IED at about 10 a.m. in an area south of Baghdad. An explosive ordnance team from 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, destroyed the device.

In another incident, soldiers from 2nd BCT located an IED on the side of a road southeast of Iskandariyah at about 9:30 a.m. An EOD team detonated the 152 mm round. Soldiers from 8th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found a roadside bomb consisting of a 122 mm mortar round partially buried in a main thoroughfare of Ameriyah at about 11:20 a.m. The device was removed and destroyed by an EOD team.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, noticed a copper wire coming out of the ground and leading back to a house nearby while conducting a reconnaissance mission near Najaf at about 8:10 a.m. Upon inspection, they discovered the wire ran to a firing position previously used for explosive devices and to a second explosive device. An EOD team disarmed and destroyed the explosive devices.

In a similar incident at about 11:50 a.m., soldiers from 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, found a 152 mm IED on the side of a rural road near Hjaddah in the far northern suburbs of Baghdad. An EOD team destroyed the roadside bomb. In another incident, soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, discovered an IED buried in the middle of a busy road in Yusufiyah while conducting a route-clearance mission at about 2 p.m. The 120 mm mortar round was unearthed and destroyed by an EOD team.