Coalition Forces in Iraq Kill Three Terrorists, Detain 21

American Forces Press Service

Aug. 19, 2007 - Coalition forces killed three terrorists and detained 21 suspects during operations in Iraq today. Military officials also reported the results of various other recent operations.

-- Near Muqdadiyah today, coalition forces targeted the leader of an al Qaeda in Iraq cell. Two suspects were killed and one was detained.

-- In Tarmiyah today, forces went after a foreign terrorist network that safeguards senior leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq. One suspect was killed and seven suspects were detained.

-- In another operation today near Tarmiyah, forces raided a series of buildings looking for an al Qaeda in Iraq leader who illegally smuggles gas to finance and fuel terrorist operations. Two suspects were detained.

-- In Salah ad Din province today, coalition forces conducted two operations targeting al Qaeda in Iraq leaders. Ground forces detained 11 suspects.

-- In operations yesterday, coalition forces killed two terrorists and detained 16 during operations in central and northern Iraq targeting senior leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq.

-- Coalition forces raided two buildings in Baghdad yesterday, looking for a senior leader of a car bombing network there. Two suspects were killed. In a related operation, coalition forces attacked a car bombing network in Tarmiyah. Forces detained six suspects.

-- In Salah ad Din province yesterday, forces targeted al Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and their foreign connections. In Bayji, ground forces captured a suspected weapons and logistics facilitator. Another suspect also was detained. In Tikrit, forces nabbed a suspected senior al Qaeda in Iraq operative who moves explosives and foreign terrorists into Iraq.

-- Also yesterday, Iraqi army soldiers, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, conducted an air assault operation in the village of Golden Hills near Balad. During the operation, Iraqi forces entered the Hay al-Qayum Mosque, which reportedly is used as a terrorist meeting place and a safe haven for improvised explosive device construction. No suspects were present, but forces recovered a number of small-arms weapons and a machine gun.

-- Iraqi security forces and U.S. Special Forces detained 31 suspects in Sayafiyah during an alleged meeting of an al Qaeda in Iraq cell Aug. 17.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered an improvised explosive device production facility Aug. 16 in an abandoned building in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Khadra. Nine PVC pipes, three of which were ready-made pipe bombs, were recovered, along with 20 pounds of half-inch ball bearings, 15 gallons of nitric acid, three high-powered rifles and various spools of cellophane and wire.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad troops uncovered two large weapons caches in a southern portion of the Iraqi capital. One cache was founded Aug. 17 in West Rashid. The cache held eight 120 mm mortars, seven 130 mm to 150 mm projectiles wired together as improvised explosive devices, six 60 mm mortar rounds and 10 rocket launcher platforms. The other was found Aug. 16. It held a 155 mm round rigged as an IED, 57 155 mm rounds, 20 anti-tank mines, six pressure-plate IEDs, 1,000 pounds of homemade explosives and instructions for making a car bomb.

-- Extremists destroyed one school and rigged a second to explode Aug. 16 in a rural area in northern Baghdad. Soldiers were already clearing one school based on a tip, when a second school nearby exploded. The second school was destroyed. The first school was found to be rigged with multiple containers of high explosives.

-- U.S and Iraqi forces captured one suspect and recovered a weapons cache during an Aug. 16 raid in eastern Baghdad.

-- Iraqi forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, detained three suspects during a series of operations in the Baghdad area Aug. 16. During the first operation, two suspects were detained, one of whom is an alleged illegal militia sniper and cell leader. In a second operation, another suspect was detained, believed to be involved in funding foreign fighters for the Islamic State of Iraq.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad attack helicopter crews killed four insurgents Aug. 15 north of Baghdad after the insurgents attacked a security checkpoint.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad troops uncovered a weapons cache in an eastern neighborhood of the Iraqi capital Aug. 15. The cache included five AK-47s, 10 magazines, dynamite, hand grenades, an 82 mm mortar system with 38 rounds, IED components, 17 rockets and a roll of detonation cord.

-- Forces uncovered the largest weapons cache found to date in the Ameriya neighborhood Aug. 14. Acting on a tip called in by a resident, forces uncovered the cache under a fake floor in a woodworking shop. The cache held 265 mortar rounds, 47 rockets, 22 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, more than 50 land mines, 300 pounds of homemade explosives, more than 150 pounds of other explosive material and more than 70,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition.

-- Soldiers seized a weapons cache Aug. 14 north of Nahrwan. The cache held seven AK-47 assault rifles, 17 AK-47 magazines, a bolt-action rifle, two scopes, a periscope, five cell phones, two radios, an outer tactical vest, a pair of binoculars and a hand grenade. Four suspects were detained.

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