Four Terrorists Killed, 30 Suspects Detained in Overnight Raids

American Forces Press Service

May 16, 2007 – Coalition forces in Iraq killed four terrorists and detained 30 suspected terrorists during operations yesterday and today targeting the al Qaeda in Iraq leadership network.

Late yesterday, coalition forces raided three buildings north of Karmah associated with an individual known to facilitate financial deals for al Qaeda senior leaders. While coalition forces searched the buildings, a truck with its lights off approached the cordon around the targeted building. After issuing multiple visual warnings, coalition forces fired warning shots, but the vehicle continued to approach the checkpoint.

Coalition forces engaged the truck with disabling shots, stopping it. One individual got out of the truck and moved to retrieve items from the back of the vehicle. U.S. officials said coalition forces took appropriate self-defensive measures in response to the hostile threat, engaging the vehicle and killing four men. Meanwhile, coalition forces in the buildings detained 17 suspected terrorists.

An operation in Anbar province targeted individuals allegedly tied to an al Qaeda senior leader responsible for car-bomb attacks and attacks on Iraqi infrastructure. Coalition forces detained seven suspected terrorists in two connected raids there this morning.

During overnight operations in Mosul, coalition forces detained one individual suspected of associating with a known facilitator of enemy fighters with ties to al Qaeda, and three suspected terrorists tied to al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders. Enemy forces left on the scene fired on coalition forces as they departed the objective.

Coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists this morning in a raid along the Tigris River near Tarmiyah targeting individuals with ties to a known al Qaeda leader.

"We're not waiting for al Qaeda to strike; we're taking the fight to them," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. "We're putting pressure on them, hitting their networks over and over, and reducing their ability to operate."

(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)

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