Iraqi, Coalition Troops Detain 13, Find Three Weapons Caches

Dec. 15, 2006 – Coalition forces and Iraqi police this week detained 13 suspected terrorists in Iraq and discovered three weapons caches. Paratroopers from Troop C, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, found a weapons cache and detained three suspected insurgents during a raid south of Baghdad today.

Troops found two AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition, three cellular phones, eight rocket-propelled grenades, two $100 bills, a hand gun, two 105 mm artillery rounds, and other improvised explosive device-making materials.

The paratroopers secured the cache and transported it back to their base camp for further analysis. The suspects are being held for questioning.

Iraqi police with coalition advisors yesterday captured three insurgents, including the suspected leader of an insurgent cell during operations in eastern Mosul. The cell is responsible for multiple attacks against Iraqi security forces in the area, and the suspect is allegedly directly responsible for murdering at least one Iraqi police officer.

Minimal damage occurred during the operation, and no casualties were reported among Iraqi civilians, Iraqi forces or coalition forces.

With the aid of coalition "fusion cells" strategically located throughout Iraq, coalition forces have captured key suspected terrorists near Baghdad and Fallujah over the last four days.

Among those captured are a known improvised-explosive-device maker and an al Qaeda kidnapping cell leader. The captured al Qaeda terrorist also is suspected to be responsible for killing individuals in the Adhamiyah area in northeastern Baghdad. During one of the missions, ground forces recovered several cell phone devices used to detonate IEDs, an AK-47 assault rifle with four magazines, and two hand grenades.

Elsewhere yesterday, Iraqi army forces with coalition advisors detained three people during operations in Baghdad to capture the leader of an illegal armed group responsible for multiple attacks against Iraqi security forces in the area.

Iraqi forces entered a mosque that was reportedly used as a meeting place for illegal armed group members and searched for the group leader. Minimal damage was done to the objective, officials said, and there were no casualties among Iraqi civilians, Iraqi forces or coalition forces.

A day earlier, Iraqi army forces and coalition advisors captured a member of an illegal armed group responsible for manufacturing and placing car bombs and improvised explosive devices for use against Iraqi civilians and Iraqi army forces. The detainee is responsible for abducting an Iraqi soldier and holding him ransom until the soldier's family paid for his release.

Iraqi forces detained two additional suspects who said a machine gun was located on the roof of a nearby mosque in the Abu Ghraib area. Iraqi security forces entered the mosque and confiscated the weapon. They also confiscated five automatic assault rifles and a hand gun. Minimal damage was done to the objective, and no Iraqi civilian, Iraqi security force or coalition casualties were reported.

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