Iraq Operations Net Suspected Weapons Smuggler

American Forces Press Service

July 27, 2007 - Coalition forces captured four suspected terrorists believed to receive support from within Iran in a pre-dawn raid in a village in Iraq's Diyala province today. One of the four is a highly sought operative believed to be a senior leader in a weapons-smuggling network, military officials reported.

The captured terrorists are suspected of facilitating the transport of weapons and personnel from Iran into Iraq. They are also believed to have facilitated the flow of deadly, armor-piercing explosively formed projectiles to be used against coalition forces.

"Coalition troops remain relentless in our pursuit of those terrorists who seek to bring EFPs and other lethal aid into Iraq," said Army Maj. Marc Young, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. "Iranian influence is hindering the prospects of peace and stability in Iraq."

In other recent operations:

-- Iraqi army soldiers with U.S. Special Forces advisors detained a cell leader of the rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi militia in Baghdad yesterday. The suspect is believed to command an improvised-explosive-device cell allegedly responsible for attacks on coalition forces. He also is alleged to have received financial support and EFPs from Iran, which were distributed to other cell members in the Bayaa and Aamel areas of Baghdad.

-- Iraqi security forces with U.S. Special Forces advisors detained two primary targets of an al Qaeda cell in Baghdad yesterday. The forces detained their primary targets at several different residences during the early morning operation. The cell allegedly is responsible for conducting extrajudicial killings of Iraqi citizens and emplacing improvised explosive devices. They are also believed to have conducted attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces, as well as local Iraqi citizens.

-- Attack aviation crews from Multinational Division Baghdad killed seven insurgents July 25 in western Baghdad. The Apache crews responded to a call from ground forces receiving small-arms fire from about 15 insurgents. The insurgents attempted to flee the area in a van when the helicopters arrived. The crews engaged the vehicle, destroying it and killing seven insurgents.

"Conducting close-combat attacks are one of our primary tasks during our daily mission sets," said Army Capt. Scott McCraney, the pilot in command for the mission. "We were able to successfully destroy the van and engage the insurgents that were firing on (the troops)."

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Corps Iraq and Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Arabian Peninsula news releases.)