Coalition Targets Foreign Terrorist Flow, Finds Caches, Disarms IED

American Forces Press Service

Sept. 17, 2008 - Coalition forces in Iraq disrupted the foreign-terrorist facilitation network, found enemy weapons stockpiles and disarmed an improvised explosive device in operations over the last two days, military officials reported. Soldiers detained four suspected terrorists during operations today to disrupt the al-Qaeda in Iraq foreign terrorist facilitation network in northern Iraq.

In Mosul, coalition forces captured two wanted men and one additional detainee reportedly tied to the part of the al-Qaida in Iraq network that smuggles materiel and foreigners into the country for terrorist attacks. One of the men is believed to conspire with senior al-Qaida in Iraq leaders in Mosul, officials said.

Another operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq's foreign terrorist facilitation network in Beiji, about 100 miles south of Mosul, netted one suspect.

A "Sons of Iraq" citizen security group member and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers combined their efforts to uncover weapons caches yesterday.

A tip from a sheik who serves as a Sons of Iraq member led soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, to the seizure of seven 57 mm rockets northwest of Baghdad.

Later yesterday, soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division's Company B, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, found a munitions cache north of Baghdad. The munitions included a 152 mm high-explosive projectile, five sticks of TNT, 15 pounds of TNT charges, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and a rifle.

In southern Baghdad's Rashid district early yesterday, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers disarmed an improvised explosive device. Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's Troop B, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, notified an explosives ordnance disposal unit of the IED – made from a 155 mm artillery round with a timer and battery pack -- in a street in the district's Hadar community.

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