Forces Kill 11 Insurgents, Detain 25 Suspects in Iraq

American Forces Press Service

June 24, 2007 – Iraqi and coalition forces killed 11 insurgents, detained 25 suspects and discovered several weapons caches in Iraq over the past three days, military officials reported. Coalition forces killed four terrorists and detained 14 suspected terrorists today during operations around Iraq targeting al Qaeda leaders and operatives.

Operations south of Hawija targeted an al Qaeda terrorist leader known for helping foreign fighters move into Iraq, military officials said. As coalition forces approached the targeted building, four men got into a vehicle and drove away.

Coalition forces followed the men, one of whom was believed to be the targeted terrorist. When the vehicle stopped, the men got out of the vehicle with weapons in hand. Coalition forces, responded to the threat, engaged the armed men and killed them.

Inside the vehicle, coalition forces found rocket-propelled grenades. They safely destroyed the vehicle and weapons on site and moved to the next targeted building, where they detained four suspected terrorists who are allegedly involved with the al Qaeda leader.

In Baghdad today, coalition forces targeted operatives in the al Qaeda network when they raided two buildings in the city. One man was wounded as coalition forces entered the building. He was taken to a military medical facility for treatment.

Inside the building, coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists for their alleged association with al Qaeda. Ground forces also discovered two vehicles that tested positive for explosives residue, which they safely destroyed.

Coalition forces captured an alleged al Qaeda religious leader during a raid west of Taji, and detained four more suspected terrorists for their involvement with the targeted individual.

"As long as al Qaeda in Iraq continues to operate, we will continue to target them and disrupt their network," said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. "Removing al Qaeda from the population remains a top priority."

In Iraq yesterday:

-- Coalition troops killed five men armed with rifles, light machine guns and grenades during raids against al Qaeda operatives in Fallujah. At one raid site, coalition forces discovered two vehicles containing ammunition, hand grenades and mortar rounds.

-- Coalition forces targeting a senior al Qaeda leader in Tikrit killed two men inside a vehicle that continued to speed towards them, failing to heed visual and audio signals to stop. Troops discovered an improvised explosive device on the back seat. Forces detained two suspected terrorists at the site.

-- Coalition forces detained three suspects during operations in Sadr City as part of an effort to deny Iranian influence in Iraq. The detained Iranian surrogates are suspected of smuggling explosively formed projectiles and other munitions to be used against coalition forces and civilians in sectarian violence, military officials said.

-- Iraqi army and coalition forces conducted a joint raid in Mosul, discovering a large factory used to make home-made explosives, improvised explosive devices and car bombs.

During operations June 22 in Iraq:

-- Coalition forces in Mosul captured an alleged Kurdish extremist associated with
attacks in northern Iraq areas. The suspect is believed to be involved in helping foreign fighters move into Iraq, as well as conducting financial and media operations
for al Qaeda, military officials said. Four other suspected terrorists were detained in
nearby raids.

-- Iraqi special operations forces detained a key rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi insurgent leader in Sadr City. The suspect is allegedly responsible for coordinating and conducting kidnappings, death squad killings and improvised explosive device attacks against innocent civilians and Iraqi and coalition forces, military officials said.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered several caches during clearing operations in Baghdad's East Rashid Security District. The caches contained 17 60mm mortar rounds, one Dragunov sniper rifle, 18 armor-piercing rifle rounds, more than 700 small-arms ammunition, cell phones, cell phone initiators used in roadside bombs and 10 blasting caps.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps News Releases.)