Coalition, Iraqis Detain 11 Suspects, Seize Weapons

American Forces Press Service

Oct. 20, 2008 - Coalition forces apprehended 11 suspected terrorists in and around Baghdad today and yesterday, military officials reported. Coalition forces captured a wanted man and six others in Baghdad today. The man is believed to be a courier and of having ties with foreign terrorists as well as regional al-Qaida in Iraq leaders, officials said.

A separate operation in Baghdad today netted another wanted man and three additional suspects believed to be associated with regional al-Qaida in Iraq leadership.

Iraq security forces and coalition troops also are increasing their seizure of illegal weapons. A tip from an Iraqi citizen to a "Sons of Iraq" citizen security group member led to a large cache find Oct. 17 in Baghdad. An Iraqi National Police brigade transition team working in partnership with U.S. soldiers with the 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team seized the cache in the city's Madain Qada area.

The cache contained 723 1.25 pound blocks of C-4 explosive, four 15-pound bags of crushed C-4 and 20 30-pound bags of various explosives, all suspected to be Iranian manufactured, officials said. The U.S. Army's 63rd Explosives Ordnance Disposal Team consolidated and destroyed all of the weapon cache items in a controlled detonation.

The find was one of the largest weapons caches discovered in Madain Qada area in several years, Lt. Col. Wayne Marotto, a 2nd BCT public affairs officer, said.

In other cache finds of illegal weapons in Baghdad over the weekend, coalition and Iraqi forces seized:

-- A rocket cache in Baghdad's Rashid district consisting of 21 107 mm rockets;

-- A 125 mm rocket, a 57 mm projectile, blasting cap and remote-control jack in the Jihad community;

-- Four AK-47 assault rifles, an MP-5 submachine gun and two pistols from a man they detained in the Karada area;

-- Eight anti-aircraft rockets, two mortar tubes, five 60 mm mortars, two Kaytusha rockets and 20 AK-fired grenades; and

-- Two rocket-propelled grenades at a technical college in Karadah, as well as five sticks of PE-4 explosives, five electric caps, a grenade fuse, about 200 rounds of small-arms ammunition, 25 feet of detonation cord and a 10-round magazine for an SVD rifle.

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