Coalition Forces Capture, Kill Terrorists in Iraq

American Forces Press Service

May 27, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed and captured terrorists, weapons caches and bomb-making materials during operations in Iraq over the past two days. Intelligence reports directed Iraqi and coalition forces to a residence in Baghdad where they captured an individual believed to have ties to a secret cell terrorist network. The network is known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosives from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training.

In other operations, coalition forces in Baghdad today targeted al-Qaeda in Iraq, detaining 18 suspected terrorists and destroying a cache of weapons and bomb-making materials.

The soldiers were operating from information gleaned from a May 21 operation. The forces detained five individuals with suspected ties to the al-Qaeda network. One individual said he had attended an IED-making class in a building nearby.

The coalition forces moved on to that building and found a cache of weapons, explosives and improvised explosive device-making materials. The cache contained three fully assembled IEDs, two artillery rounds, multiple IED triggers, eight rifles and assorted IED components.

In Mosul, coalition forces detained six individuals in two separate raids targeting al-Qaeda cell leaders in the city. Outside Fallujah, coalition forces picked up four more suspects.

Yesterday, coalition forces killed two terrorists and captured three suspects near Taji, northwest of Baghdad. One of the suspects is believed to be an al-Qaeda senior leader whose group supplies vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices for use in the Taji area. The group is also known to be responsible for indirect fire and IED attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces.

Coalition forces operating near Karmah yesterday found a cache of weapons and explosives, including 10 homemade bombs, a 55-gallon drum of ammonium nitrate, 200 anti-aircraft rounds and an anti-aircraft artillery mount and a dump truck outfitted with a detonation cord. Coalition Forces detained two suspected terrorists and safely destroyed the weapons cache on site.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq press releases.)

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