Troops in Iraq Kill Terrorists, Capture Suspects, Seize Weapons

American Forces Press Service

April 28, 2008 - Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 42 members of Iranian-backed "special groups," detained eight terrorism suspects, and seized weapons in Iraq over the past four days, military officials said.
During operations in northeastern Baghdad yesterday:

-- Iraqi and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers manning a checkpoint retaliated against a large group that attacked them around 6:35 p.m. with small-arms fire. The U.S. component of the combined force used 120 mm fire from M1A12 Abrams tanks and small-arms fire, killing 22 attackers and forcing the rest to flee. No U.S. or Iraqi soldiers were harmed or killed.

-- While on dismounted patrol around 6 p.m., 4th Infantry Division soldiers from 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, were attacked with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Soldiers providing a cordon engaged the attackers with 120 mm tank rounds and machine-gun fire from an Abrams tank, killing seven.

-- Soldiers from 1-68th Armor Regiment killed five attackers who had fired rocket-propelled grenades in the course of three separate operations.

-- An aerial weapons team killed a man after he attacked soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team with small-arms fire around 8:30 a.m. In the same area about two hours later, soldiers from 1-68th Armor Regiment killed another man after he attacked their checkpoint with small-arms fire.

Elsewhere in Iraq yesterday:

-- Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team returned fire and killed two attackers in a group that attacked a combat outpost with small-arms fire in eastern Baghdad around 3:15 p.m..

-- Coalition forces killed one enemy fighter and uncovered an explosives cache in Baghdad's Rashid district. During the engagement between the ground force and armed attackers, a 14-year-old child was injured in the crossfire. He was treated at a coalition medical facility then released to the care of his family.

-- Soldiers with 3rd Iraqi Army Division advised by U.S. Special Forces soldiers detained six suspected insurgents in Bulayj during an operation to disrupt insurgent networks operating in the area.

In operations April 26, separate tips led Multinational Division Center soldiers to weapons caches in Mahmudiyah, near a patrol base about 20 miles south of the Iraqi capital. The cache contained improvised explosive device-making materials. Another cache, uncovered at a house near the Qaqa apartments in Mahmudiyah included six mortars, a 107 mm rocket, a 57 mm projectile, ball bearings and other explosive-making materials, and an IED that consisted of blocks of TNT.

Elsewhere, Iraqi soldiers discovered a large cache containing mortars, rockets and IED-making materials northwest of Yusufiyah. Troops turned over the contents of the cache to a coalition force explosive ordnance disposal team for controlled detonation.

In operations April 25 and 26, Iraqi security forces advised by U.S. Special Forces soldiers killed three men during an operation to prevent special groups violence in Hussayniya, and Iraqi special operations forces operating in Jazeera Desert nabbed the two suspected weapons smugglers.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)