Coalition Forces Detain 12 Suspects in Iraq Operations

American Forces Press Service

April 14, 2008 - Coalition forces netted nine suspects during operations in Iraq targeting senior al-Qaida leaders today. Coalition forces conducted two missions targeting the al-Qaida bombing network. In a precision operation in Beiji, the ground force captured an alleged associate of the area's bombing cell. Farther south, coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists in Tikrit, one of whom allegedly is linked to a senior terrorist leader in the Baghdad bombing network.

North of Taji, coalition forces captured a suspected close associate of a senior terrorist leader.

Southwest of Tal Afar, coalition forces captured a suspected al-Qaida terrorist believed to be responsible for the group's finances in the region and an additional suspect. Two women were slightly injured when the ground force breached the door of the target building. They were treated on site.

In Mosul, four suspected terrorists were detained during an operation. Coalition forces also detained two individuals allegedly involved in the al-Qaida in Iraq foreign terrorist facilitation network west of Samarra.

In operations in Iraq yesterday:

-- Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team conducting a tank patrol in eastern Baghdad killed six criminals after they attacked the patrol with rocket-propelled grenades. A rotary-wing air-weapons team was called in and witnessed an armed criminal in an open field and killed him. Soldiers in the tank identified the armed criminals on the rooftop of a nearby building who attacked them with RPG fire and engaged the armed men, killing five.

-- Criminals attacked a Multinational Division Baghdad patrol with a homemade bomb in eastern Baghdad, igniting a major fire at the nearby Ummal market. Iraqi emergency response personnel responded to the fire. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers recovered the vehicle and suffered no major injuries in the attack.

-– In eastern Baghdad, coalition forces targeted a senior leader in the Baghdad al-Qaida propaganda network. When the ground force entered the target building, one suspect drew a weapon. Coalition forces responded to the hostile threat, killing the armed man. One suspected terrorist was detained, and coalition forces gathered information that led them to a second target in the area where they detained an additional suspect.

-- Iraqi army soldiers discovered a weapons cache in Salahuddin province containing 57 mm mortar rounds. A coalition forces explosives team recovered the cache and transported it to a secure area for disposal.

-- On a tip from a local citizen, Iraqi National Police officers discovered a weapons cache inside a truck southeast of Baghdad. It included anti-tank mine warheads, rocket fuses, 120 mm mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and 107 mm rockets. Five suspects are being held for questioning in connection to the cache.

-- Multinational Division North soldiers discovered between 20 and 30 bodies buried in a mass grave south of Muqdadiyah. All the bodies were badly decomposed and appear to have been at the site nearly eight months. The remains will be moved to a nearby cemetery.

On April 12 in Iraq:

-- An air weapons team providing aerial protection for a coalition force convoy witnessed one of the vehicles hit a roadside bomb. The team positively identified two individuals near the scene as the triggermen and engaged them. One was killed and the other was injured. He was treated and detained.

-- Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team conducted a search-and-seizure operation in southern Baghdad based upon a tip provided by a local citizen. The operation resulted in the detention of a suspected criminal leader accused of conducting crime against Iraqi security and coalition forces operating in the Rashid district of the capital city. The soldiers also detained eight others suspected of being involved with the suspected ringleader.

-- In Kirkuk, Iraqi soldiers discovered a large cache, the fourth to be found in the area in the past 10 days. The largest of the four, it included projectiles, mortar rounds, rockets, and grenades. The four caches likely were used to stockpile munitions for distribution to smaller cache sites, which were closer to routes frequently traveled by coalition forces, officials said.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)