Coalition Forces Capture Suspects, Weapons Caches in Iraq

American Forces Press Service

Oct. 23, 2008 - Coalition forces captured five terrorism suspects today during separate operations in and around Baghdad, military officials reported. Acting on intelligence information, coalition forces targeted suspected Iranian-trained enemy fighters believed to have conducted attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces, specializing in armor-piercing projectiles, sniper attacks and intelligence collection.

During the first operation, forces moved in on the target area, where they detained one of the suspects. In the second operation, coalition forces detained two others without incident.

In central Iraq, coalition forces detained two suspected terrorists, one of them a wanted man. Acting on intelligence reports, forces operating near Habbaniyah, west of Baghdad, targeted a man believed to secure materials and finances for roadside bombs used by al-Qaida to attack coalition forces. The suspected terrorist, who is believed to have ties to regional al-Qaida leaders, was captured without incident. Another suspected terrorist believed to be an associate of the wanted man was detained during the operation.

In operations yesterday:

-- Iraqi soldiers found a 105 mm artillery round, 12 60 mm mortars and 150 .50-caliber rounds of ammunition while patrolling in Baghdad's Kadhamiyah area. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, provided support for the Iraqi unit.

-- A Multinational Division Baghdad military transition team working with 3rd Battalion, 54th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, found a hidden cache containing 11 57-120 mm mortar rounds, homemade explosive material, C-4 plastic explosive material, ball bearings and a fire extinguisher filled with homemade explosives in a house in Baghdad's Mansour area.

-- Soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division's Company B, 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, found 24 new 107 mm rocket fuses still in their packaging in Baghdad's New Baghdad area.

-- Soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division's Company B, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, found 1,500 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, four 85 mm rockets, a 75 mm rocket, a machine gun and two washing machine timers north of Baghdad.

-- Soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, found two 57 mm rockets with wires, and a spool with about 1,000 yards of copper wire in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib district.

-- Soldiers of Company D, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, conducted a target raid in Rashid's Aamel community, capturing a suspected militia leader responsible for operating militia safe houses and a bomb-making cell in southern Baghdad.

In operations Oct. 21:

-- Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, conducting a target raid, detained a suspected member of an Iranian-backed group believed to have conducted roadside-bomb attacks and stockpiled weapons in southern Baghdad's Abu Tshir community.

-- Ground forces caught a suspected terrorist in Tikrit after intelligence reports suggested he was an al-Qaida bombing cell leader. The man, who is believed to have ties to regional al-Qaida leaders, surrendered himself to coalition forces during the operation.

-- Iraqi soldiers seized a huge weapons and munitions cache believed to have been abandoned by Iranian-backed enemy fighters in Baghdad's Sadr City district. The cache consisted of 61 rockets of various sizes, 15 of which were Iranian-manufactured; 351 mortar rounds of various sizes, including 36 that were Iranian-made; more than 32,000 rounds of ammunition; 17 Iranian-manufactured fuse mortar rounds; 263 different sizes of mortar tubes, two of them Iranian-manufactured; various sizes of projectiles; rocket-propelled grenades; a remote car bomb, a remote RPG launcher; shaped charges; TNT primers; armor plates; handheld radios; homemade silencers; and seven machine guns.

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