Coalition, Iraqi Forces Detain Terrorism Suspects, Seize Weapons

American Forces Press Service

July 30, 2008 - Iraqi and coalition forces detained a dozen suspected terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaida in Iraq leaders in the central part of the country yesterday and today, military officials reported. Surveillance teams monitored several suspected associates of an al-Qaida in Iraq leader northwest of Samarra and conducted two operations today to target them. As coalition forces arrived in the area, they received small-arms fire but were unable to determine the source. Moving closer to the target building, they saw four individuals involved in suspicious activity. Perceiving hostile intent, officials said, the force shot and killed two men and a woman, and wounded another woman. A third man who was detained in the operation admitted to working with explosives. The injured woman, who was treated on site and taken to a military medical facility, was determined to be an Iraqi civilian.

Coalition forces did not find any weapons with the five individuals, officials said, and the incident is under investigation. In the other operation in the area, coalition forces detained six suspects and discovered two rifles.

In operations yesterday:

-- In the Hamrin Mountains region, coalition and Iraqi forces detained a wanted man and two additional suspects. The wanted man reportedly has ties to al-Qaida in Iraq leaders in the area.

-- Iraqi and coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists during an operation in Kirkuk targeting the leader of a bombing cell.

-- Iraqi soldiers seized homemade-bomb components north of Baghdad.

-- Soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team seized a cache in Baghdad's East Rashid district after receiving a tip from a local citizen. The cache included a 60 mm mortar round and Iranian-manufactured 107 mm rockets.

-- Iraqi National Police in Baghdad's West Rashid district found a cache that included 82 mm mortar rounds and five mortar fuses.

-- Iraqi National Police in Rashid's Doura community notified soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team of a possible roadside bomb. The soldiers acted on the information and secured the roadside bomb and a cell-phone initiator until an explosives team arrived to dispose of it.

-- A citizen's tip led a patrol from the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team to a highly sought-after suspected terrorist in southern Baghdad, officials said. The patrol detained and moved the suspect to a coalition forces base for questioning.

In July 28 operations:

-- Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team secured an undisclosed amount of homemade explosives at a house in Rashid's Saydiyah community until an explosives team arrived to dispose of them.

-- Operation Sabre Pursuit continued, with 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and Iraqi soldiers unearthing 12 caches near Hamud in Diayla province. The caches included 60 mm mortar rounds with a mortar tube, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher with various grenades and several AK-47 assault rifles.

-- Iraqi police seized a weapons cache in the New Baghdad district of the Iraqi capital. The cache included a rocket-propelled grenade, assorted artillery shells, an 82 mm mortar tube, cases of large-caliber ammunition, radios and a homemade-bomb trigger.

-- Soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team seized a cache north of Baghdad that included 105 mm rounds, a 25 mm projectile and a 68 mm rocket warhead.

-- A leader of the Sons of Iraq, a citizen security group, turned in munitions to Iraqi soldiers in the Mansour area of Baghdad. The munitions included 60 mm mortars and RPG rounds.

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