Iraqi, U.S. Forces Detain Militant Extremist Leader

American Forces Press Service

Sept. 3, 2007 - Iraqi security forces detained a militant extremist leader and one of his subordinate leaders during an early morning raid yesterday in southern Babil Province, military officials reported. The suspected terrorist is directly involved in the majority of terrorist acts in Hillah and mortar attacks on coalition bases and the Regional Embassy Office. Iraqi citizens have reported that he leads militias to assassinate locals and has recruited a sniper with training in Iran to target Iraqi police and Iraqi army soldiers.

In other operations over the past several days:

-- Scouts from the 6th Iraqi Army conducted an operation in Baghdad detaining a suspected extremist cell leader and one cell member yesterday. The suspected cell leader heads an explosively-formed projectile cell and is believed to be responsible for an Aug. 14 attack against coalition forces and two direct fire attacks against a coalition base in the Baghdad area July 31 and Aug. 18.

-- Iraqi security forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, killed an al Qaeda insurgent and detained 17 suspected insurgents during a four-day patrol in support of Operation Phantom Strike Aug. 29 to Sept. 1. Iraqi forces from three separate units coordinated a series of intelligence driven raids in the vicinity of Al Rieq, Al Wara and Sinjar, located in the Al Jazirah Desert north of the Euphrates River near Rawah. Six suspects were detained in Al Rieq and 11 suspects were taken into custody in Al Wara.

-- Iraqi special operations forces detained a suspected extremist militant leader and one subordinate during a raid Sept. 1 in Nasiriyah. The detained insurgents are members of a militant suspected for conducting attacks against U.S. bases in Iraq as well as ambushing and killing several Iraqi soldiers in the area. In addition to seizing three AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol, five other suspected insurgents were detained.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from the 4th "Dragon" Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, found two weapons caches and arrested a man suspected of housing another cache during clearing operations in the Rashid District of the Iraqi capital, Sept. 1.

-- Troops attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team found four 60 mm mortar rounds during a patrol in Doura Sept. 1. Explosive ordnance disposal personnel destroyed the munitions.

-- Also in Doura, sworn statements led the "Warriors" of 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment to detain a man who allegedly stockpiled illegal weapons Sept. 1. Explosive ordnance disposal units were dispatched to an Iraqi police station in the Hayy Aamel neighborhood to dispose of unexploded ordnance consisting of seven 80 mm mortar rounds and three 60 mm mortar rounds wired as improvised-explosive devices; six 107 mm rockets and five rocket-propelled grenades.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)