12 Detained in Raids; Suicide Bombers Killed in Iraq Ops

American Forces Press Service

June 11, 2007 – Coalition forces detained 12 suspected terrorists during coordinated operations targeting the al Qaeda in Iraq network today. Coalition forces targeted a location southeast of Fallujah where an alleged al Qaeda in Iraq cell leader, known for emplacing improvised explosive devices, was staying. Forces detained six suspected terrorists there.

Forces raided a group of buildings in Tarmiyah in an operation targeting a suspected terrorist who is allegedly a financial emir for al Qaeda in Iraq.

During four other coordinated raids in Baghdad, coalition forces detained five other suspected terrorists linked to an al Qaeda in Iraq emir. The ground force also found and destroyed a cache of weapons at the site.

In other news from Iraq, Multinational Force Iraq officials today condemned yesterday's bombing at the Transportation Department in Tikrit.

"These attacks were directed against Iraqi people and their infrastructure, and clearly show the desperate nature of these attackers intent on disrupting the Iraqi economy and intimidating innocent civilians," the statement read.

Also in Iraq operations:

-- Soldiers stopped a potential suicide-car bomb attack June 10 at Patrol Base Warrior Keep, near Sadr Al-Yusufiyah, Iraq. The soldiers were from 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), out of Fort Drum, N.Y. A driver in a dump truck loaded with homemade explosives was stopped attempting to break through the base's perimeter barriers. Soldiers fired at the truck until it stopped. The driver was wearing a suicide vest.

-- Iraqi police killed two insurgents wearing suicide vests at a checkpoint near an education facility in Baquba on June 9. Two men wearing suicide vests approached the checkpoint. When the first individual failed to yield to warnings, the Iraqi police shot the insurgent. This caused his vest to explode. The concussion of the blast detonated the second vest, killing the other insurgent. A third pedestrian wearing a suicide vest was later killed in the same area. One policeman was injured and later died.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad attack helicopter crews on June 9 destroyed a building where homemade explosives were being produced south of Baghdad. The Apache helicopter crew was from the 1st "Attack" Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

-- Attack helicopters engaged and destroyed an ambush site south of Khanan on June 9, killing eight insurgents. Gunmen at the site fired at a coalition forces helicopter. Attack helicopters operating nearby moved into the area, where they saw several insurgents in fighting positions armed with rocket-propelled-grenade launchers and a mounted heavy machine gun. The attack helicopters engaged the ambush site, killing eight and destroying the fighting positions.

--Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers recovered a weapons cache and detained four suspects during a security operation June 9 in the Kamaliyah area of eastern Baghdad. Soldiers with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, based out of Fort Riley, Kan., recovered 23 120 mm rockets, 21 107 mm rockets, 20 pounds of propellant, three mines, two 155 mm artillery rounds, and more than 150 rounds of assorted ammunition.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

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