Soldiers Detain Six Suspected Criminals in Baghdad

American Forces Press Service

Sept. 23, 2008 - Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained six suspected criminals today in Baghdad's Rashid district, military officials reported. Soldiers of Company B, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained five suspected Iranian-backed illegal militia members in the district's Risalah community. Soldiers of the battalion's Company A detained another alleged illegal militia member elsewhere in Risalah.

In another operation today near Khan Azad, south of Baghdad, forces captured an alleged terrorist believed to have connections to international al-Qaida operatives. During the operation, forces found a sketch of a possible bomb trigger on the man, as well as several weapons and grenades hidden in a garden behind his home. Before leaving the area, coalition forces safely destroyed the grenades.

In operations yesterday:

-- Coalition forces captured a suspected terrorist during an operation in Baghdad. The wanted man is believed to be a long-time member of the city's car-bombing network. A second operation in Baghdad targeting an alleged al-Qaida foreign terrorist facilitator netted one suspect.

-- Coalition forces detained a wanted man and an additional suspect during an operation in the Jazeera Desert, southwest of Mosul. Intelligence reports suggest that the wanted man, believed to be the regional al-Qaida leader, has connections to senior al-Qaida leadership.

-- Two suspects were arrested in Mosul during an operation targeting an alleged terrorist believed to have local and international connections to al-Qaida leadership.

-- Information from a "Sons of Iraq" citizen security group member led soldiers serving with the 25th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, to a cache north of Baghdad. The munitions included a 120 mm mortar round, six 57 mm projectiles, two roadside bombs, seven blasting caps, a hand grenade, a jug of bulk explosives with detonation cord, a propane tank, four blocks of Russian-manufactured TNT and other bomb-making materials.

-- Another tip from an Iraqi citizen led soldiers serving with the 4th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, to a 25 mm round, a grenade and a rifle in Baghdad's West Rashid district of Baghdad.

In operations Sept. 21:

-- An Iraqi citizen approached soldiers from Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division's 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, about an improvised bomb in his yard in the Zubaida community. Soldiers found a fire extinguisher with foam and wires protruding, and called an explosive ordnance disposal unit to clear the homemade device from the citizen's front yard. EOD disposed of two pounds of homemade explosive material found inside the fire extinguisher.

-- Soldiers from h Infantry Division's Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, discovered five rocket-propelled grenade launchers and an RPG warhead buried in southern Baghdad's Hadar community.

-- Also in Hadar, a Sons of Iraq leader reported a roadside bomb to soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Troop A, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. The soldiers called an EOD unit, who confirmed it was a 57 mm projectile and brought the round to a forward operating base for further analysis and destruction.

-- Soldiers from the same unit detained four men allegedly responsible for emplacing a roadside bomb in Hadar. The soldiers took the detainees to a joint security station for further processing and questioning.

-- Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, arrested three suspects in southern Baghdad's Aamel community. The soldiers took the detainees to a combat outpost for further questioning. Soldiers from the same unit also arrested a suspected Iranian-backed illegal militia member during an intelligence-driven target raid in the Jihad community of southern Baghdad's Rashid district.

-- Sons of Iraq members and Iraqi police in Riyadh thwarted an attempt by terrorists to place a bicycle laden with explosives near a busy market area. The security volunteers and police at a nearby checkpoint observed a truck whose occupants unloaded a bicycle, left it and departed quickly. Upon further investigation, they noticed a suspicious white bag attached to the bicycle's frame, and immediately notified soldiers of Company D, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, at Patrol Base Howell. A coalition EOD confirmed the presence of the bomb and safely removed and detonated it at a secure location.

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