U.S., Iraqi Forces Thwart Terrorist Attacks In Mosul

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2006 – Iraqi security forces teamed up with American GIs to defeat two nearly simultaneously launched enemy attacks in the Mosul area Oct. 12. U.S. soldiers from Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, attacked and destroyed a terrorist mortar cell after Forward Operating Base Marez received indirect fire.

Two terrorists were killed, one wounded and one detained in the attack. The GIs also found a significant weapons cache in the area that contained three 82 mm mortar tubes with 18 mortar rounds and a 120 mm mortar tube with multiple mortar rounds.

U.S. soldiers saw terrorists flee to a nearby building during the firefight. The building was encircled, and then 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, soldiers launched an assault, killing two terrorists inside and capturing three.

Around this time in western Mosul, Iraqi troops teamed with U.S. soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, to defeat a complex terrorist attack involving small-arms and rocket-propelled-grenade fire.

During the fighting, Iraqi police and soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, captured several mobile weapons caches and killed and detained numerous terrorists. One Iraqi soldier and four Iraqi police were wounded in the fighting.

Iraqi police in Mosul reported they detained 39 suspected terrorists, wounded two terrorists and killed eight terrorists after the Oct. 12 firefight. The police also captured several small-arms weapons caches, 10 vehicles suspected of being used for terrorist activity and one large truck with weapons.

Twelve coalition forces soldiers were wounded in the initial mortar attack on Forward Operating Base Marez East. Four soldiers were treated and returned to duty, five were not seriously wounded and three were seriously wounded. Their names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.