Coalition Forces Detain Six Suspects in Iraq

American Forces Press Service

Oct. 16, 2008 - Coalition forces continued to drive al-Qaida in Iraq out of the country yesterday and today, targeting terrorists during operations in Mosul and Baghdad, military officials reported. During two related operations in Mosul ending yesterday, a wanted man and an additional suspect were detained by coalition forces. The wanted man is believed to have associated with a terrorist killed Oct. 5, officials said. The other detained man allegedly has ties to senior al-Qaida leaders.

Two more suspected terrorists were detained by coalition forces today during an operation targeting regional al-Qaida leadership in Mosul.

Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained two suspected members of an Iranian-backed illegal militia early yesterday in Baghdad's Rashid district.

Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained another suspected Iranian-backed militia member in the Abu Tshir community. The suspect allegedly is responsible for torture activities and roadside-bomb attacks in the Hurriyah area, officials said. The patrol took the suspect to a coalition force base for additional questioning.

Later, soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained a suspected Iranian-backed militia member in the Hadar community. The patrol moved the individual suspected of making car bombs for attacks against Iraqis to a coalition combat outpost for further processing.

In operations Oct. 14:

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers attached to the 10th Mountain Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team captured two suspected Iranian-backed militia members in eastern Baghdad's New Baghdad district. One of the men reportedly is an illegal militia leader in Kamaliyah.

-- Soldiers serving with the 4th Infantry Division's Company E, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, seized a munitions cache in Baghdad's West Rashid district. The munitions included an eight-inch armor-piercing projectile, two improvised rocket rails, a smoke grenade, a 60 mm mortar round, two AK-47 assault rifle magazines with armor-piercing rounds, two AK-47 magazines with ball ammunition, 300 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, 1,000 rounds of linked 7.62 mm ammunition and various bomb-making materials.

-- Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, reported finding a 75 mm rocket-propelled grenade with a homemade launcher and improvised explosive device-making materials after searching an area in the Furat community of West Rashid based on a tip from a concerned citizen. The soldiers turned the materials over to a coalition forces explosives ordnance disposal unit and continued on their mission.

-- Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, discovered two improvised claymore mines in Abu Tshir while investigating an abandoned house based on a tip from a concerned citizen in southeastern Rashid.

-- Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, seized an RPG, an RPG launcher, an AK-47, 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm ammunition and blasting caps while searching an abandoned house in the Hayy Furat community of southern Baghdad's Rashid district. The patrol notified an EOD unit to handle the weapons cache.

In operations Oct. 13:

-- In Sharqat, Iraqi soldiers captured two suspected 1920 Revolutionary Brigade terrorist group leaders active in the Tigris River Valley. One of the individuals is believed to be providing funding to terrorist organizations, officials said.

-- In Ayn Alwah, an Iraqi special weapons and tactics team detained a suspected IED and indirect fire cell leader. During the operation, SWAT confiscated an IED and a pressure-plate IED initiating system.

-- An Iraqi emergency response brigade detained seven suspected al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists in Taji Shores. One of the men is said to be a military leader within the al-Qaida wing that operates in Taji Shores.

-- In Kaira, Iraq soldiers captured a suspected weapons smuggler. The individual, said to have been an armorer in the Iraqi army during Saddam Hussein's time, is believed to be fixing and stockpiling weapons for future operations, officials said. Iraqi soldiers confiscated several items and weapons components that indicate he is repairing weapons.

-- In Mosul, Iraqi special operations forces captured three brothers believed to be responsible for planting roadside bombs.

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